The globalizability of temporal discounting.
Ruggeri K., Panin A., Vdovic M., Većkalov B., Abdul-Salaam N., Achterberg J., Akil C., Amatya J., Amatya K., Andersen TL., Aquino SD., Arunasalam A., Ashcroft-Jones S., Askelund AD., Ayacaxli N., Sheshdeh AB., Bailey A., Barea Arroyo P., Mejía GB., Benvenuti M., Berge ML., Bermaganbet A., Bibilouri K., Bjørndal LD., Black S., Lyshol JKB., Brik T., Buabang EK., Burghart M., Bursalıoğlu A., Buzayu NM., Čadek M., de Carvalho NM., Cazan A-M., Çetinçelik M., Chai VE., Chen P., Chen S., Clay G., D'Ambrogio S., Damnjanović K., Duffy G., Dugue T., Dwarkanath T., Envuladu EA., Erceg N., Esteban-Serna C., Farahat E., Farrokhnia RA., Fawad M., Fedryansyah M., Feng D., Filippi S., Fonollá MA., Freichel R., Freira L., Friedemann M., Gao Z., Ge S., Geiger SJ., George L., Grabovski I., Gracheva A., Gracheva A., Hajian A., Hasan N., Hecht M., Hong X., Hubená B., Ikonomeas AGF., Ilić S., Izydorczyk D., Jakob L., Janssens M., Jarke H., Kácha O., Kalinova KN., Kapingura FM., Karakasheva R., Kasdan DO., Kemel E., Khorrami P., Krawiec JM., Lagidze N., Lazarević A., Lazić A., Lee HS., Lep Ž., Lins S., Lofthus IS., Macchia L., Mamede S., Mamo MA., Maratkyzy L., Mareva S., Marwaha S., McGill L., McParland S., Melnic A., Meyer SA., Mizak S., Mohammed A., Mukhyshbayeva A., Navajas J., Neshevska D., Niazi SJ., Nieves AEN., Nippold F., Oberschulte J., Otto T., Pae R., Panchelieva T., Park SY., Pascu DS., Pavlović I., Petrović MB., Popović D., Prinz GM., Rachev NR., Ranc P., Razum J., Rho CE., Riitsalu L., Rocca F., Rosenbaum RS., Rujimora J., Rusyidi B., Rutherford C., Said R., Sanguino I., Sarikaya AK., Say N., Schuck J., Shiels M., Shir Y., Sievert EDC., Soboleva I., Solomonia T., Soni S., Soysal I., Stablum F., Sundström FTA., Tang X., Tavera F., Taylor J., Tebbe A-L., Thommesen KK., Tobias-Webb J., Todsen AL., Toscano F., Tran T., Trinh J., Turati A., Ueda K., Vacondio M., Vakhitov V., Valencia AJ., Van Reyn C., Venema TAG., Verra SE., Vintr J., Vranka MA., Wagner L., Wu X., Xing KY., Xu K., Xu S., Yamada Y., Yosifova A., Zupan Z., García-Garzon E.
Economic inequality is associated with preferences for smaller, immediate gains over larger, delayed ones. Such temporal discounting may feed into rising global inequality, yet it is unclear whether it is a function of choice preferences or norms, or rather the absence of sufficient resources for immediate needs. It is also not clear whether these reflect true differences in choice patterns between income groups. We tested temporal discounting and five intertemporal choice anomalies using local currencies and value standards in 61 countries (N = 13,629). Across a diverse sample, we found consistent, robust rates of choice anomalies. Lower-income groups were not significantly different, but economic inequality and broader financial circumstances were clearly correlated with population choice patterns.