Language group differences in time preferences: Evidence from primary school children in a bilingual city

Sutter, Matthias; Angerer, Silvia; Glatzle-Rutzler, Daniela und Lergetporer, Philipp (2018): Language group differences in time preferences: Evidence from primary school children in a bilingual city. In: European Economic Review, Bd. 106: S. 21-34

Abstract

We study differences in intertemporal choices across language groups in an incentivized experiment with 1154 children in a bilingual city. The sample consists of 86% of all primary school kids in Meran/Merano, where about half of the 38,000 inhabitants speak German, and the other half Italian, while both language groups live very close to each other. We find that German-speaking primary school children are about 16 percentage points more likely than Italian-speaking children to delay gratification in an intertemporal choice experiment. The difference remains significant in several robustness checks and when controlling for a broad range of factors, including risk attitudes, IQ family background, or residential area. Hence, we are able to show that language group affiliation, which is often used as a proxy for culture, plays an important role in shaping economic preferences already early in life.

• Dokumententyp: Zeitschriftenartikel
• Fakultät: Volkswirtschaft
• Themengebiete: 300 Sozialwissenschaften > 330 Wirtschaft
• ISSN: 0014-2921
• Sprache: Englisch