Estimating the Factors That Explain Economists\u27 Time Preferences

Theory suggests that individuals’ characteristics, such as age and gender, may affect their rates of time preference. This paper empirically explores this “characteristic-time preference relationship.” Our sample is drawn from survey responses of economists belonging to the Association of Environmental and Resource Economics. We find that ideology, age, field of study, and the size of the institution where economists are employed are significant factors explaining economists’ time preferences