Estimating the relationship between rate of time preferences and healthy lifestyle in Russia

This paper aims to reveal the relationship between rate of time preferences (RTP) and healthy lifestyles of Russians. This rate shows individual preferences for the distribution of consumption over time. We examine such healthy and unhealthy behavior as smoking, drinking alcohol, doing physical exercise and having medical check-ups. The research is based on data from a survey which was conducted by the Yuri Levada Analytical Center in 2011. Our findings suggest that the RTP along with such factors as age, gender, marital status, income, health status and employment status influence the lifestyle of Russians