Impatience and Uncertainty: Experimental Decisions Predict Adolescents' Field Behavior

Konferenzbeitrag

We study risk attitudes, ambiguity attitudes, and time preferences of 661 children and adolescents, aged ten to eighteen years, in an incentivized experiment. We relate experimental choices to field behavior. Experimental measures of impatience are found to be significant predictors of health related field behavior and saving decisions. In particular, more impatient children and adolescents are more likely to spend money on alcohol and cigarettes, have a higher body mass index (BMI) and are less likely to save money. Experimental measures for risk and ambiguity attitudes are only weak predictors of field behavior.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: Beiträge zur Jahrestagung des Vereins für Socialpolitik 2011: Die Ordnung der Weltwirtschaft: Lektionen aus der Krise - Session: Experimental Economics I ; No. A9-V2

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Design of Experiments: Laboratory, Individual ; Field Experiments ; Criteria for Decision-Making under Risk and Uncertainty
• Subject: experiments with children and adolescents ; risk ; ambiguity ; time preferences ; health status ; savings ; external validity ; field behavior

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Rützler, Daniela ; Sutter, Matthias ; Kocher, Martin G. ; Trautmann, Stefan T.
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (when): 2011

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/48720
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:44 AM CET