Empirical Determinants of Intertemporal Choice

We study the empirical determinants of intertemporal choice by analyzing a unique decision Croatian retirees made recently about whether to accept an immediate pension payment or a larger stream of delayed payments. Individual decisions are correlated in sensible ways with income, liquidity constraints, longevity expectations, and other covariates. Attitudes toward government also matter: those less confident that the government will honor its commitments are more likely to take the immediate stream of payments. Those who believe it is important to receive "the full amount due, no matter how long it takes" are substantially more likely to take the delayed payments.