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Decreasing Impatience

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  • Chambers, Christopher P
  • Echenique, Federico
  • Miller, Alan D

Abstract

We characterize decreasing impatience, a common behavioral phenomenon in intertemporal choice. Discount factors that display decreasing impatience are characterized through a convexity axiom for investments at fixed interest rates. Then we show that they are equivalent to a geometric average of generalized quasi-hyperbolic discount rates. Finally, they emerge through parimutuel preference aggregation of exponential discount factors.

Suggested Citation

  • Chambers, Christopher P & Echenique, Federico & Miller, Alan D, 2023. "Decreasing Impatience," Department of Economics, Working Paper Series qt2mk6969c, Department of Economics, Institute for Business and Economic Research, UC Berkeley.
    • Handle: RePEc:cdl:econwp:qt2mk6969c
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    Other versions of this item:

    • Christopher P. Chambers & Federico Echenique & Alan D. Miller, 2021. "Decreasing Impatience," Papers 2103.03290, arXiv.org, revised Aug 2022.

    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Economics; Applied Economics; Banking; finance and investment; Applied economics; Economic theory;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D15 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Intertemporal Household Choice; Life Cycle Models and Saving
    • D61 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Allocative Efficiency; Cost-Benefit Analysis
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making

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