The Nature and Predictive Power of Preferences: Global Evidence

Armin Falk, Anke Becker (), Thomas Dohmen, Benjamin Enke, David B. Huffman () and Uwe Sunde
Additional contact information
Anke Becker: University of Bonn
David B. Huffman: University of Pittsburgh

No 9504, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: This paper presents the Global Preference Survey, a globally representative dataset on risk and time preferences, positive and negative reciprocity, altruism, and trust. We collected these preference data as well as a rich set of covariates for 80,000 individuals, drawn as representative samples from 76 countries around the world, representing 90 percent of both the world's population and global income. The global distribution of preferences exhibits substantial variation across countries, which is partly systematic: certain preferences appear in combination, and follow distinct economic, institutional, and geographic patterns. The heterogeneity in preferences across individuals is even more pronounced and varies systematically with age, gender, and cognitive ability. Around the world, our preference measures are predictive of a wide range of individual-level behaviors including savings and schooling decisions, labor market and health choices, prosocial behaviors, and family structure. We also shed light on the cultural origins of preference variation around the globe using data on language structure.

Keywords: economic preferences; cultural variation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D01 D03 F00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 79 pages
Date: 2015-11
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-evo and nep-upt
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (88)

Published - revised version published as 'Global Evidence on Economic Preferences' in: Quarterly Journal of Economics, 2018, 133 (4), 1645-1692

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Related works:
Working Paper: The Nature and Predictive Power of Preferences: Global Evidence (2016)
Working Paper: The Nature and Predictive Power of Preferences: Global Evidence (2015)
Working Paper: The nature and predictive power of preferences: Global evidence (2015)
Working Paper: The nature and predictive power of preferences: global evidence (2015)
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