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Discounting, Patience, and Dynamic Decision Making

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  • John Quah
  • Bruno Strulovici

Abstract

Whether they are financial, economic, or psychological, discount rates affect most economic decisions: investment and savings, hirings and firings, defaults and refinancing, financial and economic reforms, learning and experimentation, and any other decision with long-term consequences, such as gas emissions control. This paper studies these questions in a unified framework, providing general insights and results showing how discounting affects i) the expected utility of an agent, ii) the timing and the magnitude of his decisions, and iii) the path of underlying state variables controlled by the agent. The analysis includes the case of a time-inconsistent agent and of stochastic discounting.

Suggested Citation

  • John Quah & Bruno Strulovici, 2011. "Discounting, Patience, and Dynamic Decision Making," Economics Series Working Papers 555, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:oxf:wpaper:555
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Capital growth; Comparative statics; Discounting; Internal rate of return; Optimal control; Optimal stopping; Patience; Presence value; Project Valuation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C61 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Mathematical Methods; Programming Models; Mathematical and Simulation Modeling - - - Optimization Techniques; Programming Models; Dynamic Analysis
    • D81 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Criteria for Decision-Making under Risk and Uncertainty
    • D90 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - General
    • E2 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment
    • G11 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Portfolio Choice; Investment Decisions
    • G31 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Capital Budgeting; Fixed Investment and Inventory Studies

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