Impatience and Uncertainty: Experimental Decisions Predict Adolecents' Field Behavior

Published: Dec. 22, 2010, 11 a.m.

b'We study risk attitudes, ambiguity attitudes, and time preferences of 661 children and\\nadolescents, aged ten to eighteen years, in an incentivized experiment. We relate experimental\\nchoices to field behavior. Experimental measures of impatience are found to be significant\\npredictors of health related field behavior and saving decisions. In particular, more impatient\\nchildren and adolescents are more likely to spend money on alcohol and cigarettes, have a higher\\nbody mass index (BMI) and are less likely to save money. Experimental measures for risk and\\nambiguity attitudes are only weak predictors of field behavior.'