Visual convex time preferences: Lab, field and high schools

Abstract

<title>Abstract</title> We introduce the Visual Convex Time Preferences (VCTP) task, a new tool for measuring time preferences that synthesizes the simplicity of Multiple Price List (MPL) and the precision of Convex Time Budget (CTB) tasks. We evaluate VCTP in three environments: lab, field and high school. The lab experiment suggests that VCTP improves the precision of time preferences without increasing task time or decreasing subject consistency. The field experiment partially replicates the results, since subjects make little use of the additional precision. The high school experiment shows that younger populations find it difficult to perform both the MPL and the VCTP, but older teenagers use the advantage of VCTP at no cost. Overall, the results indicate that the task successfully measures time preferences but should be adapted to specific populations.