Subadditive versus hyperbolic discounting: A comparison of choice and matching

Read, D.; Roelofsma, P.H.M.P.

Abstract

Impulsive and myopic choices are often explained as due to hyperbolic discounting, meaning that people are impatient for outcomes available immediately, and become increasingly more patient the more the outcome is delayed. Recent research, however, has suggested that much experimental evidence for increasing patience is actually due to subadditive discounting: people are less patient (per-time-unit) over shorter intervals regardless of when they occur. Because previous research into subadditive discounting has used a choice elicitation procedure, the present paper tests whether it generalises to matching. We find strong evidence that it does, but also find weak evidence of increasing patience for matching. We suggest, however, that subadditive discounting alone may be sufficient to account for all of our results. We conclude by questioning the contribution that hyperbolic discounting makes to our understanding of time preference.

Citation

Read, D., & Roelofsma, P. (2003). Subadditive versus hyperbolic discounting: A comparison of choice and matching. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 91(2), 140-153. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0749-5978%2803%2900060-8

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: 2003-07
• Deposit Date: Apr 2, 2007
• Journal: Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes
• Print ISSN: 0749-5978
• Electronic ISSN: 1095-9920
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 91
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 140-153
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/s0749-5978%2803%2900060-8
• Keywords: Intertemporal choice, Hyperbolic discounting, Subadditive discounting, Impulsivity, Time preference, Dynamic inconsistency.
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1601059