The Dynamics of the Russian Lifestyle During Transition: Changes in Food, Alcohol and Cigarette Consumption

This paper presents evidence on the impact of individual as well as regional characteristics on changes in fat, protein, alcohol and cigarette consumption, and on diet’s diversity between 1994 and 2004. The results from a dynamic econometric model suggest that among individual determinants such as initial levels of consumption, gender, education, household income changes, and access to a garden plot all have a significant impact on the changes in consumption behavior in Russia. Regarding the macroeconomic variables, inflation has a significant impact on changes in alcohol and cigarettes consumption, while unemployment changes significantly impact smoking behavior. Russian consumers only respond to own price changes of fat and protein, but do not respond to own prices for alcohol and cigarettes. Analysis of subsamples conditional on initial consumption behavior reveals significant heterogeneity in consumption patterns, which is important for effective policy targeting different population groups in achieving healthier lifestyle choices in Russia.food consumption; smoking; alcohol; economic transition; Russia

Are Risk Aversion and Impatience Related to Cognitive Ability?

This paper investigates whether risk aversion and impatience are correlated with cognitive ability. We conduct incentive compatible choice experiments measuring risk aversion, and impatience over an annual time horizon, for a representative sample of roughly 1,000 German adults. A measure of cognitive ability is provided by two submodules of one of the most widely used IQ tests. Interviews are conducted in subjects'' own homes. We find that lower cognitive ability is associated with greater risk aversion, and more pronounced impatience. These relationships are statistically and economically significant, and robust to controlling for personal characteristics, educational attainment, income, and measures of liquidity constraints. We perform a series of additional robustness checks, which help rule out other possible confounds.Economics ;

The Intergenerational Transmission of Risk and Trust Attitudes

Recent theoretical contributions depart from the usual practice of treating individual attitude endowments as a black box, by assuming that these are shaped by the attitudes of parents and other role models. Attitudes include fundamental preferences such as risk preference, and crucial beliefs about the world, such as trust. This paper provides evidence on the three main mechanisms for attitude transmission highlighted in the theoretical literature: (1) transmission of attitudes from parents to children; (2) positive assortative mating of parents, which tends to reinforce the impact of parents on the child; (3) an impact of prevailing attitudes in the local environment. Investigating these mechanisms is important because they are crucial assumptions underlying a large literature. It also sheds light on the basic question of where individual attitude endowments come from, and the factors that determine these drivers of economic behavior. The findings are supportive of attitude transmission models, and indicate that all three mechanisms play a role in shaping economically relevant attitudes.risk preferences, trust, intergenerational transmission, cultural economics, family economics, assortative mating, social interactions, SOEP

Are Risk Aversion and Impatience Related to Cognitive Ability?

This paper investigates whether risk aversion and impatience are correlated with cognitive ability. We conduct incentive compatible choice experiments measuring risk aversion, and impatience over an annual time horizon, for a representative sample of roughly 1,000 German adults. A measure of cognitive ability is provided by two submodules of one of the most widely used IQ tests. Interviews are conducted in subjects' own homes. We find that lower cognitive ability is associated with greater risk aversion, and more pronounced impatience. These relationships are statistically and economically significant, and robust to controlling for personal characteristics, educational attainment, income, and measures of liquidity constraints. We perform a series of additional robustness checks, which help rule out other possible confounds.risk preference, time preference, cognitive ability, field experiment

Homo Reciprocans: Survey Evidence on Behavioural Outcomes

This paper complements the experimental literature that has shown theimportance of reciprocity for behaviour in stylized labour markets or otherdecision settings. We use individual measures of reciprocal inclinations in alarge, representative survey, and relate reciprocity to real world labour marketbehaviour and life outcomes. We find that reciprocity matters, and we find thatthe way in which it matters is very much in line with the experimental evidence.In particular, positive reciprocity is associated with receiving higher wages andworking harder. Negatively reciprocal inclinations tend to reduce effort. Firmsdo not pay lower wages to individuals with strong negatively reciprocalinclinations. Instead, negative reciprocity increases the likelihood of beingunemployed. Looking at broader measures of success, in terms of number ofclose friends, and subjective well-being, we find that positively reciprocalinclination are associated with greater happiness and ability to sustain friendshiprelations, with the opposite being true for negative reciprocity.education, training and the labour market;

Are Risk Aversion and Impatience Related to Cognitive Ability?

Th is paper investigates whether risk aversion and impatience are correlated withcognitive ability. We conduct incentive compatible choice experiments measuringrisk aversion, and impatience over an annual time horizon, for a representative sampleof roughly 1,000 German adults. A measure of cognitive ability is provided by twosubmodules of one of the most widely used IQ tests. Interviews are conducted insubjects’ own homes. We fi nd that lower cognitive ability is associated with greaterrisk aversion, and more pronounced impatience. Th e relationships are statisticallyand economically signifi cant, and robust to controlling for personal characteristics,educational attainment, income, and measures of liquidity constraints. We perform aseries of additional robustness checks, which help rule out other possible confounds.(JEL codes: C93, D01, D80, D90, J24, J62).education, training and the labour market;

Interpreting Time Horizon Effects in Inter-Temporal Choice

We compare different designs that have been used to test for an impact of time horizon on discounting, using real incentives and two representative data sets. With the most commonly used type of design we replicate the typical finding of declining (hyperbolic) discounting, but with other designs find constant or increasing discounting. As a whole, the data are not consistent with any of these usual candidate discounting assumptions, and they also imply a violation of transitivity. The results have implications for interpreting previous evidence, and pose an important puzzle for understanding inter-temporal choice.time preference, hyperbolic discounting, self-control, dynamic inconsistency, intransitivity