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Beliefs as a Means of Self-Control? Evidence from a Dynamic Student Survey

  • We repeatedly elicit beliefs about the returns to study effort, in a large university course. A behavioral model of quasi-hyperbolic discounting and malleable beliefs predicts that the dynamics of beliefs mirrors the importance of exerting self-control, such that believed returns increase as the exam approaches, and drop post-exam. Exploiting variation in exam timing to control for common information shocks, we find this prediction confirmed: average believed study returns increase by about 20% over the period before the exam, and drop by about the same amount afterwards. Additional analyses further support the hypothesized mechanism that beliefs serve as a means of self-control.

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Metadaten
Document Type:Working Paper
Language:English
Author(s):Felix Bönisch, Tobias König, Sebastian Schweighofer-KodritschORCiD, Georg Weizsäcker
Parent Title (English):Berlin School of Economics Discussion Papers
Hertie Collections (Serial Number):Berlin School of Economics Discussion Papers (14)
Publication year:2023
Publishing Institution:Hertie School
Number pages:41
Related URL:https://berlinschoolofeconomics.de/insights/bse-discussion-papers
DOI:https://doi.org/10.48462/opus4-4945
Release Date:2023/05/09
Edition:No. 14
Hertie School Research:BerlinSchoolOfEcon_Discussion_Papers
Licence of document (German):Creative Commons - CC BY - 4.0 International
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