Do economic preferences of children predict behavior?

Arbeitspapier

Economic theory and empirical evidence establish that economic preferences predict behavior and life outcomes for children, adolescents, and adults. In this paper, we use novel data on 4,282 siblings aged 6 to 16 that combine incentivized measures of time, risk, and social preferences with comprehensive information on child behavior and family environment. Using standard cross-sectional specifications, our results confirm the predictive power of children's preferences for behavior. However, when estimating household fixed effects models that allow controlling forall characteristics that are shared by siblings, this predictive power largely vanishes. We discuss implications for research on children's preferences and behavior.

Object Details

• ISBN: 978-3-86304-341-4
• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: DICE Discussion Paper ; No. 342

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Design of Experiments: Laboratory, Individual ; Microeconomic Behavior: Underlying Principles ; Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
• Subject: time preferences ; risk preferences ; social preferences ; experiments with children ; origins of preferences ; human capital ; behavior ; household fixed effects ; siblings

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Breitkopf, Laura ; Chowdhury, Shyamal K. ; Priyam, Shambhavi ; Schildberg-Hörisch, Hannah ; Sutter, Matthias
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf Institute for Competition Economics (DICE)
• (where): Düsseldorf
• (when): 2020

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/219989
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:42 AM CET