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Title: Human Capital and the Lifetime Costs of Impatience
Resulting in 1 citation.
1. Cadena, Brian C.
Keys, Benjamin J.
Human Capital and the Lifetime Costs of Impatience
American Economic Journal: Economic Policy 7,3 (August 2015): 126-153.
Also: https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/pol.20130081
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: American Economic Association
Keyword(s): Armed Forces Qualifications Test (AFQT); College Dropouts; Educational Aspirations/Expectations; Educational Attainment; Human Capital; Personality/Big Five Factor Model or Traits; Time Preference

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

In this paper, we examine the role of impatience in human capital formation, arguably the most important investment decision individuals make during their lifetimes. We focus on a set of investment behaviors that cannot be explained solely by variation in exponential discounting. Using data from the NLSY and a straightforward measure of impatience, we find that impatient people more frequently invest in dynamically inconsistent ways, such as dropping out of college with one year or less remaining. The cumulative investment differences result in the impatient earning 13 percent less and expressing more regret as this cohort reaches middle age.
Bibliography Citation
Cadena, Brian C. and Benjamin J. Keys. "Human Capital and the Lifetime Costs of Impatience." American Economic Journal: Economic Policy 7,3 (August 2015): 126-153.