Negative and zero time preference for health.
The assumption of positive time preference is seldom challenged in analyses of intertemporal choices, despite considerable evidence of zero and negative discount rates. In this study, the majority of respondents have positive discount rates, but a substantial number have negative or zero discount rates. Using probit regression, the perception of the severity of the health-state, gender, education and perception of the questions in terms of difficulty are shown to influence whether individuals have positive discount rates.
Van Der Pol
M M
MM
University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Scotland, UK. m.m.vanderpol@abdn.ac.uk
Cairns
J A
JA
D000328:Adult; D003625:Data Collection; D003657:Decision Making; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D017060:Patient Satisfaction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012044:Regression Analysis; D013222:State Medicine; D006113:United Kingdom