Abstract

Some individuals borrow extensively on their credit cards. This paper tests whether present-biased time preferences correlate with credit card borrowing. In a field study, we elicit individual time preferences with incentivized choice experiments, and match resulting time preference measures to individual credit reports and annual tax returns. The results indicate that present-biased individuals are more likely to have credit card debt, and to have significantly higher amounts of credit card debt, controlling for disposable income, other socio-demographics, and credit constraints.

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Citation

Meier, Stephan, and Charles Sprenger. "Present-Biased Preferences and Credit Card Borrowing." American Economic Journal 2, no. 1 (2010): 193-210.

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