Incentivized experiments are commonly used to estimate marginal rate of intertemporal substitution (MRS) in the lab and in the field, and to make inferences about subject’s time preference. This paper considers the implications of an integrated model of behavior in which individuals are...

Time preferences may explain public opinion about a wide range of long-term policy problems whose costs and benefits will be realized in the distant future. However, mass publics may discount these costs and benefits because they are later or because they are more uncertain. Standard methods to...

Incentivized experiments are commonly used to estimate marginal rates of intertemporal substitution (MRS) in the lab and in the field in order to make inferences about individual time preferences. This paper considers an integrated model of behavior in which individuals are subject to financial...

We review research that measures time preferences—i.e., preferences over intertemporal tradeoffs. We distinguish between studies using financial flows, which we call “money earlier or later” (MEL) decisions and studies that use time-dated consumption/effort. Under different structural...

Many researchers have examined the influence of the financial planning horizon variable in the Survey of Consumer Finances and the Health and Retirement Study. The question asks respondents to choose the most important time period for saving and spending decisions. These researchers have assumed...