Arbeitspapier
Heritability of time preference: Evidence from German twin data
Intergenerational correlations of time preference are well documented. However, there is still limited empirical evidence about the role of genetics in this transmission process. In our paper, we use data on roughly 3,000 twins from the German TwinLife project to estimate the heritability of time preference. We rely on an experimentally validated survey measure of temporal discounting, namely, self-assessed patience. The analysis of monozygotic and dizygotic twins enables us to apply standard biometric models. We find that genetic differences explain up to 23 percent of individual variation in patience. Whereas the additive genetic effect and common environmental effects are of minor importance, a major dominant genetic effect is present. These results indicate a notable degree of genetic influence on economic time preferences.
- Language
-
Englisch
- Bibliographic citation
-
Series: Volkswirtschaftliche Diskussionsreihe ; No. 334
- Classification
-
Wirtschaft
Household Behavior: General
Micro-Based Behavioral Economics: General‡
Demographic Economics: General
Cultural Economics; Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology: General
- Subject
-
Twin study
genetics
heritability
patience
time preference
- Event
-
Geistige Schöpfung
- (who)
-
Hübler, Philipp
- Event
-
Veröffentlichung
- (who)
-
Universität Augsburg, Institut für Volkswirtschaftslehre
- (where)
-
Augsburg
- (when)
-
2017
- Handle
- Last update
-
10.03.2025, 11:42 AM CET
Data provider
ZBW - Deutsche Zentralbibliothek für Wirtschaftswissenschaften - Leibniz-Informationszentrum Wirtschaft. If you have any questions about the object, please contact the data provider.
Object type
- Arbeitspapier
Associated
- Hübler, Philipp
- Universität Augsburg, Institut für Volkswirtschaftslehre
Time of origin
- 2017
Other Objects (12)
Heritability of time preference: evidence from German twin data
Risk Aversion and Son Preference: Experimental Evidence from Chinese Twin Parents
Real-Time Preference Analytics on Data Streams
Digital twin for real-time data processing in logistics
Digital twin for real-time data processing in logistics
On Negative Time Preference
Do Couples Bargain over Fertility? Evidence Based on Child Preference Data
Do Couples Bargain over Fertility? Evidence Based on Child Preference Data
Do Couples Bargain over Fertility? Evidence Based on Child Preference Data
New evidence on preference utilization
Fiscal multipliers and time preference
Documentation TwinLife Data: Zygosity
Heritability of time preference: evidence from German twin data
Risk Aversion and Son Preference: Experimental Evidence from Chinese Twin Parents
Real-Time Preference Analytics on Data Streams
Digital twin for real-time data processing in logistics
Digital twin for real-time data processing in logistics
On Negative Time Preference
Do Couples Bargain over Fertility? Evidence Based on Child Preference Data
Do Couples Bargain over Fertility? Evidence Based on Child Preference Data
Do Couples Bargain over Fertility? Evidence Based on Child Preference Data
New evidence on preference utilization
Fiscal multipliers and time preference
Documentation TwinLife Data: Zygosity
Heritability of time preference: evidence from German twin data
Risk Aversion and Son Preference: Experimental Evidence from Chinese Twin Parents
Real-Time Preference Analytics on Data Streams
Digital twin for real-time data processing in logistics
Digital twin for real-time data processing in logistics
On Negative Time Preference
Do Couples Bargain over Fertility? Evidence Based on Child Preference Data
Do Couples Bargain over Fertility? Evidence Based on Child Preference Data
Do Couples Bargain over Fertility? Evidence Based on Child Preference Data
New evidence on preference utilization
Fiscal multipliers and time preference