Hyperbolic Discounting and Household Consumption:An Analysis based on a Large-scale Survey in Japan

In this paper, I investigate what is the difference in consumption behavior between hyperbolic and non-hyperbolic discounting households by using data from hJapan Household Survey on Consumer Preferences and Satisfactionh conducted by Osaka University. I show that the marginal propensity to consumption out of income (fixed assets, respectively) of hyperbolic discounting household is higher (lower) than that of non-hyperbolic discounting household. These results are consistent with the theoretical propositions by Laibson (1997) and Angeletos et al. (2001).