The Agricultural Origins of Time Preference
American Economic Review · 2016 · Volume 106 · Issue 10
Abstract
This research explores the origins of observed differences in time preference across countries and regions. Exploiting a natural experiment associated with the expansion of suitable crops for cultivation in the course of the Columbian Exchange, the research establishes that pre-industrial agro-climatic characteristics which were conducive to higher return to agricultural investment triggered selection, adaptation, and learning processes that generated a persistent positive effect on the prevalence of long-term orientation in the contemporary era. Furthermore, the research establishes that these agro-climatic characteristics have had a culturally embodied impact on economic behavior such as technological adoption, education, saving, and smoking.
Keywords
Political Processes: Rent-Seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior, Banks, Depository Institutions, Micro Finance Institutions, Mortgages, Financial Institutions and Services: Government Policy and Regulation
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