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Non stationary additive utility and time consistency

Author

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  • Nicolas Drouhin

    (ENS Paris Saclay - Ecole Normale Supérieure Paris-Saclay)

Abstract
Within a continuous time life cycle model of consumption and savings, I study the properties of the most general class of additive intertemporal utility functionals. They are not necessarily stationary, and do not necessarily multiplicatively separate a discount factor from \per-period utility". I prove rigorously that time consistency holds if and only if the per-period felicity function is multiplicatively separable in t, the date of decision and in s, the date of consumption, or equivalently, if the Fisherian instantaneous subjective discount rate does not depend on t. The model allows to explain \anomalies in intertemporal choice" and various empirical regularities, even when the agents are time consistent. On the other hand, the model allows to characterize mathematically the \effective consumption pro le" of naive, time-inconsistent agents.

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  • Nicolas Drouhin, 2019. "Non stationary additive utility and time consistency," Working Papers halshs-01238584, HAL.
  • Handle: RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-01238584
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    4. Nicolas Drouhin, 2012. "A rank-dependent utility model of uncertain lifetime, time consistency and life insurance," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) halshs-00748662, HAL.
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    8. Cruz Rambaud, Salvador & Ortiz Fernández, Piedad & Parra Oller, Isabel María, 2023. "A systematic review of the main anomalies in intertemporal choice," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 104(C).

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    Keywords

    exponential discounting; time invariance; hyperbolic discounting; aging; time consistency; stationarity of preferences; life cycle theory of consumption and savings; time discounting; anomalies in intertemporal choice;
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