We provide an infinite-horizon model of nonmonotone intertemporal preferences that capture a strong dislike of volatility involved in a utility sequence. As an intermediate result, we also derive a nonmonotone version of multiple-priors utility.

We propose an alternative axiomatization of the model of intertemporal utility smoothing suggested by Wakai (2008) without introducing auxiliary consumption risk.

It is standard in experimental economics to use decontextualized designs where payoff structures are presented using neutral language. Here we show that cooperation in such a neutrally framed Prisoner’s Dilemma is equivalent to a PD framed as contributing to a cooperative endeavour....

Spatial perspective implies a hyperbolic spatial discount rate. To the extent that discounting with respect to space and to time are analogous, this result provides further evidence that hyperbolic discounting is a good description of how we view the world.

We observe that identification of the discount rate from experimental data requires an assumption about the consumption period, the length of time over which a payment will be turned into utility-providing consumption. We show that the optimal consumption period is substantially longer than...

Using experimental data of children and their mothers, this paper explores the intergenerational relationship of impatience. The child’s impatience stems from a delay of gratification experiment, the mother’s from a choice task. Findings demonstrate an intergenerational relationship in...

We show that risk-averse hyperbolic-discounting agents can benefit from positive exposure to risk and thus behave as if risk-loving. When the benefits of costly effort are delayed, selecting some risk concerning the outcome of one’s own effort can serve as an intrapersonal commitment device...

The integrated assessment literature frequently replicates uncertainty by averaging Monte Carlo runs of deterministic models. This Monte Carlo analysis is, in essence, an averaged sensitivity analyses. The approach resolves all uncertainty before the first time period, drawing parameters from a...

I study the characterization of delay aversion in a general class of intertemporal utility functions by adapting the behavioral definition introduced by Benoit and Ok (2007). I show that when the utility functions are partially differentiable, an agent is more delay averse if and only if he has...

Although linearly interpolated series are often used in economics, little has been done to examine the effects of interpolation on time-series properties and on statistical inference. We show that linear interpolation of a trend stationary series superimposes a ‘periodic’ structure on the...