Affiliation:
1. Department of Economics, Brown University, Providence, RI (email: )
2. Department of Economics, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX (email: )
Abstract
This research explores the origins of observed differences in time preference across countries and regions. Exploiting a natural experiment associated with the expansion of suitable crops for cultivation in the course of the Columbian Exchange, the research establishes that pre-industrial agro-climatic characteristics which were conducive to higher return to agricultural investment triggered selection, adaptation, and learning processes that generated a persistent positive effect on the prevalence of long-term orientation in the contemporary era. Furthermore, the research establishes that these agro-climatic characteristics have had a culturally embodied impact on economic behavior such as technological adoption, education, saving, and smoking. (JEL D72, G21, G28)
Publisher
American Economic Association
Subject
Economics and Econometrics
Cited by
329 articles.
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