Abstract
The current field study compares the time preferences of young adults of similar ages but in two very different environments, one more dangerous and uncertain than the other. Soldiers, college students and a control group of teenagers answered questionnaires about their time preferences. During mandatory service, soldiers live in a violent atmosphere where they face great uncertainty about the near future and high risk of mortality (measured by probability of survival). University students and teenagers live in much calmer environment and are tested for performance only periodically. The soldier-subjects show relatively high subjective discount rates when compared to the other two groups. We suggest that the higher subjective discount rate among soldiers can be the result of high perceived risk in the army as an institution, or higher mortality risk.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 130-138 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | Judgment and Decision Making |
| Volume | 6 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| State | Published - Feb 2011 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Discount rates
- Military
- Perceived risk
- Soldiers
- Time preference