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.
Document Type: | Working Paper |
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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 |