Financial decisions in temporal perspective: analysis of three groups of Ecuadorian university students
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31637/epsir-2026-2002Keywords:
Behavioral economics, decision making, cognitive biases, time preferences, behavioral experiment, bounded rationality, present bias, invarianceAbstract
Introduction: Time preferences influence the decisions that subjects make on a daily basis. Contrary to the criterion of unlimited rationality, there is evidence that points to the limited capacity for information processing, the influence of emotions and the environment on decision making, and the importance of immediate gratification. Methodology: The research carried out conforms to the quantitative approach, descriptive type and proposes a non-experimental design, because the sample does not meet the randomness criterion. The sample is made up of 251 students from the Business Administration, Psychology and Economics programs at the VICENTE ROCAFUERTE Lay University of Guayaquil. The Multiple Price List and Convex Time Budget techniques were used. Results: The findings indicate the existence of irrational decisions by preferring to wait for time without obtaining any benefit in return; as well as, changes in intertemporal preferences were found in the three sample groups. Discussions: The evidence is based on criteria of authors who emphasize the limited nature of human rationality and the failure to comply with the stability of preferences over time. Conclusions: No differences were found between the groups studied in terms of temporary financial decisions.
Downloads
References
Akerlof, G. (1991). Procrastination and Obedience. American Economics Review, 81(2), 1-19. https://acortar.link/DO6vV2
Andreoni, J., Kuhn, M. A. y Sprenger, C. (2015). Measuring time preferences: A comparison of experimental methods. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 116, 451-464. https://acortar.link/V6XGdO DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2015.05.018
Andreoni, J. y Sprenger, C. (2012). Estimating time preferences from Convex Time Budgets. The American Economic Review, 102(7), 3333–3356. https://acortar.link/5FPnME DOI: https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.102.7.3333
Ashraf, N., Karlan, D. y Yin, W. (2006). Tying Odysseus to the Mast: Evidence from a Commitment Savings Product in the Philippines. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 121(2), 635-672. https://acortar.link/1CsjYC DOI: https://doi.org/10.1162/qjec.2006.121.2.635
Bernal, A. M. (2020). Procrastinación y Productividad: un análisis experimental. Polémika, 1,
1-40. https://acortar.link/xFiARO
Berns, G., Laibson, D. y Loewenstein, G. (2007). Intertemporal choice-toward an integrative framework. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 11(11), 482-488. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2007.08.011 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2007.08.011
Bisin, A. y Hyndman, K. (2014). Present-bias, procrastination and deadlines in a field experiment. National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series (19874). https://acortar.link/5bFaPy DOI: https://doi.org/10.3386/w19874
Bickel, W. K., Madden, G. J. y Petry, N. M. (1998). The price of change: The behavioral economics of drug dependence. Behavior Therapy, 29(4), 545-565. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0005-7894(98)80050-6 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0005-7894(98)80050-6
Brañas-Garza, P., Espín, A. y Jorrat, D. (2019). Midiendo la paciencia. Economía industrial, 413, 21-31. https://acortar.link/DLNX0w
Brown, J. y Previtero, A. (2014). Procastination, Present-Biased Preferences, and Financial Behaviors. En The 16th Annual Joint Meeting of the Retirement Research Consortium. Washington, DC. (16-18 de agosto de 2014). https://acortar.link/lGlKtu
Bulley, A. y Pepper, G. V. (2017). Cross-country relationships between life expectancy, intertemporal choice and age at first birth. Evolution and Human Behavior, 38(5), 652-658. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2017.05.002 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2017.05.002
Burks, S. V., Carpenter, J. P., Goette, L. y Rustichini, A. (2012). Which measures of time preference best predict outcomes: Evidence from a large-scale field experiment. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 84(1), 308-320. https://acortar.link/Vj8TGk DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2012.03.012
Can, B. y Erdem, O. (2013). Income groups and long term investment. Economics Bulletin, 33(4), 3014-3022. https://acortar.link/RjT0v0
Cárdenas, C. (2004). Bringing the lab to the field: More than changing subjects. Artefactual Field Experiments 00024, The Field Experiments Website. https://acortar.link/sM3KZm
Carvalho, L., Meier, S. y Wang, S. (2016). Poverty and economic decisión making: Evidence from changes in financial resources at payday. American Economic Review, 106(2),
260-284. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.20140481 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.20140481
Cerrone, C. y Lades, L. K. (2017). Sophisticated and naive procrastination: an experimental study. Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods. https://acortar.link/sB5MYu DOI: https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2969797
Chabris, C. F., Laibson, D., Morris, C. L., Schuldt, J. P. y Taubinsky, D. (2008). Individual laboratory-measured discount rates predict field behavior. Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, 37(2-3), 237-269. https://acortar.link/GCBF1U DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11166-008-9053-x
Cid-Moreno, D., Moreno-Adalid, A., Rodríguez-Iglesias, I. y Pinto-Hernández, F. (2024). Economía conductual y su impacto en el desarrollo económico de los países menos desarrollados: Estrategias basadas en nudges. European Public & Social Innovation Review, 9, 1-20. https://doi.org/10.31637/epsir-2024-1028 DOI: https://doi.org/10.31637/epsir-2024-1028
Chu, A. y Choi, J. N. (2005). Rethinking Procrastination: positive effects of active procrastination behavior on attitudes and performance. The Journal of Social Psychology, 145(3), 245-264. https://acortar.link/CFVUhg DOI: https://doi.org/10.3200/SOCP.145.3.245-264
Contiggiani, F. (2012). La inconsistencia de las elecciones intertemporales: un analisis desde la neuroeconomia. ESTUDIOS ECONÓMICOS, 29(58), 13-37. https://acortar.link/TkfFnt DOI: https://doi.org/10.52292/j.estudecon.2012.767
Cortiñas, P. (2022). ¿Cómo hemos llegado hasta aquí? Políticas conductuales y macroeconomía conductual, un poco de historia. Revista Economista, 179, 8-15. https://acortar.link/UCqmg7
Delaney, L. y Leades, L. (2017). Present bias and everyday self-control failures: A day reconstruction study. Behavioral Decision Making, 30(5), 1157-1167. https://doi.org/10.1002/bdm.2031 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/bdm.2031
Espantaleón-Rueda, R. (2024). Los nudges, elemento clave en la publicidad digital. European Public & Social Innovation Review, 9, 1-21. https://doi.org/10.31637/epsir-2024-1080 DOI: https://doi.org/10.31637/epsir-2024-1080
Espín, A. M., Exadaktylos, F., Herrmann, B. y Brañas-Garza, P. (2015). Short-and long-run goals in ultimatum bargaining: impatience predicts spite-based behavior. Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience, 9, 214. https://acortar.link/hR2ban DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2015.00214
Gill, A., Hett, F. y Tischer, J. (Julio, 2018). Measuring time inconsistency using financial transaction data. SAFE Policy Letter, 71, 1-8. https://acortar.link/cQ5af3
Giuliano, P. y Sapienza, P. (2020). El costo de ser demasiado paciente. AEA Papers and Proceedings, 110, 314-318. https://acortar.link/viQdLh DOI: https://doi.org/10.1257/pandp.20201070
Gruber, J. y Koszegi, B. (2001). Is Addiction Rational? Theory and Evidence. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 116(4), 1261-1305. https://acortar.link/J53cUn DOI: https://doi.org/10.1162/003355301753265570
Hortal-Sánchez, A. (2023). Combatiendo la violencia de género a través de políticas públicas conductuales: alcances y limitaciones. Retos Revista de Ciencias de la Administración y Economía, 13(25), 63-77. https://doi.org/10.17163/ret.n25.2023.05 DOI: https://doi.org/10.17163/ret.n25.2023.05
Hortal-Sánchez, A. y Pérez-Martínez, A. (2024). Behavioral strategies for reducing corruption: from regulation to choice architecture. Behavioural Public Policy (first view), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1017/bpp.2024.48 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/bpp.2024.48
Kahneman, D. y Frederick, S. (2001). Representativeness Revisited: Attribute Substitution in Intuitive Judgement. En T. Gilovich, D. Griffin y D. Kahneman (Eds.), Heuristics and Biases: The Psychology of Intuitive Judgment (pp. 49-81). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511808098.004 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511808098.004
Kuan, R., Blagg, K., Castleman, B. L., Darolia, R., Matsudaira, J. D., Milkman, K. L. y Turner, L. J. (2025). Behavioral nudges prevent loan delinquencies at scale: A 13-million-person field experiment. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 122(4), e2416708122. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2416708122 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2416708122
Kuchler, T. y Pagel, M. (2017). Sticking to your Plan: The Role of Present Bias for Credit Card Paydown. NBER Working Paper, 24881. The National Bureau of Economic Research. https://acortar.link/7iDBpe DOI: https://doi.org/10.3386/w24881
Laibson, D. (1996). Hyperbolic Discount Functions, Undersaving and Savings Policy. NBER Working Paper 5635, National Bureau of Economic Research. https://acortar.link/ZJHDRo DOI: https://doi.org/10.3386/w5635
Laibson, D. (1997). Golden eggs and hyperbolic discounting. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 112(2), 443-477. https://doi.org/10.1162/003355397555253 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1162/003355397555253
Leyva-León, E., Borbón-Morales, C. y Durazo-Salas, F. (2019). Sesgo hacia el presente, fuentes de financiamiento y variables productivas: evidencia de un grupo de productores de leche en Hermosillo, Sonora. Espacio I+D, Innovación más Desarrollo, VIII (21), 76-94. http://dx.doi.org/10.31644/IMASD.21.2019.a05 DOI: https://doi.org/10.31644/IMASD.21.2019.a05
Liebenehm, S. y Waibel, H. (2014). Simultaneous estimation of risk and time preferences among small-scale cattle farmers in West Africa. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 96(5), 1420-1438. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajae/aau056 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/ajae/aau056
Locey, M., Jones, B. y Rachlin, H. (2011). Real and hypothetical rewards. Judgement and Decision Making, 6(6), 552-564. https://acortar.link/pNis0e DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1930297500002515
Mani, A., Mullainathan, S., Shafir, E. y Zhao, J. (2013). Proverty impides cognitive function. Science, 341(6149), 976-980. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1238041 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1238041
MacKillop, J., Amlung, M. T., Wier, L. M., David, S. P., Ray, L. A., Bickel, W. K. y Sweet, L. H. (2012). The Neuroeconomics of Nicotine Dependence: A Preliminary Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study of Delay Discounting of Monetary and Cigarette Rewards in Smokers. Psychiatry Research, 202(1), 20-29. https://acortar.link/V2uBWC DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pscychresns.2011.10.003
Marx, B. M. y Lesley J. T. (2019). Student Loan Nudges: Experimental Evidence on Borrowing and Educational Attainment. American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 11(2), 108-41. https://doi.org/10.1257/pol.20180279 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1257/pol.20180279
Meier, S. y Sprenger, C. (2010). Present-Biased Preferences and Credit Card Borrowing. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 2(1), 193-210. https://doi.org/10.1257/app.2.1.193 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1257/app.2.1.193
Metcalfe, J. y Mischel, W. (1999). A Hot/Cool-System Analysis of Delay of Gratification: Dynamics of Willpower. Psychological Review, 106(1), 3-19. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.106.1.3 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037//0033-295X.106.1.3
Meyer, K., Page, L. C., Mata, C. Smith, E., Walsh, B. T., Fifield, C. L., Eremionkhale, A., Evans, M. y Frost, S. (2023). Let’s Chat: Leveraging Chatbot Outreach for Improved Course Performance. (EdWorkingPaper: 22-564). https://doi.org/10.26300/es6b-sm82
Mischel, W. (1958). Preference for Delayed Reinforcement: An Experimental Study of a Cultural Observation. The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 56(1), 57-61. https://acortar.link/YDhVRA DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/h0041895
Mischel, W. y Rodríguez, M. L. (1993). Psychological Distance in Self-Imposed Delay of Gratification. En R. Cocking, K. A. Renninger y K. Renninger (Eds.), The Development and Meaning of Psychological Distance, (pp. 109-121). Erlbaum.
Moreno, A. T. y Aguilera, M. N. (2017). Distancia psicológica. Economía. Teoría y práctica. Nueva Época, 46, 173-194. https://acortar.link/V69EOq
Morford, R. (2014). Social media cited as largest source of procrastination. Northeastern University.
Manuck, S. B., Flory, J. D., McCaffery, J. M., Matthews, K. A., Mann, J. J. y Muldoon, M. F. (1998). Aggression, Impulsivity, and Central Nervous System Serotonergic Responsivity in a Nonpatient Sample. Neuropsychopharmacology, 19(4), 287-299. https://acortar.link/VUAR7Z DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.npp.1395199
Muñeton, G., Ruiz-Martínez, A. F. y Loaiza, O. L. (2017). Toma de decisiones. Explicaciones desde la ciencia aplicada del comportamiento. Revista Espacios, 38(13), 1-12. https://acortar.link/7BeDU8
O’Donoghue, T. y Rabin, M. (1999). Doing it Now or Later. American Economic Review, 89(1), 103-124. https://acortar.link/9o0Gty DOI: https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.89.1.103
O’Donoghue, T. y Rabin, M. (2001). Choice and Procrastination. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 116(1), 121-160. https://acortar.link/PlIyml DOI: https://doi.org/10.1162/003355301556365
O’Donoghue, T. y Rabin, M. (2003). Studying Optimal Paternalism, Illustrated by a Model of Sin Taxes. American Economic Review, 93(2), 186-191. https://acortar.link/yU5Rc9 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1257/000282803321947029
O’Donoghue, T. y Rabin, M. (2006). Optimal sin taxes. Journal of Public Economics, 90, (10-11), 1825-1849. https://acortar.link/5pUKYm DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2006.03.001
Oreopoulos, P. (2007). Do dropouts drop out too soon? Wealth, health and happiness from compulsory schooling. Journal of Public Economics, 91(11-12), 2213-2229. https://acortar.link/gdVsAR DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2007.02.002
Patiño, D. y Gómez, F. (2019). Do Quasi-Hyperbolic Preferences Explain Academic Procrastination? An Empirical Evaluation. Hacienda Pública Española, 230, 95-124. https://acortar.link/9La7Yq DOI: https://doi.org/10.7866/hpe-rpe.19.3.4
Pérez-Martínez, A (2021). ¿Es transferible el conocimiento de Economía Conductual a investigaciones sobre pobreza? Behavior and Law Journal, 7(1), 78-85. https://doi.org/10.47442/blj.v7.i1.81 DOI: https://doi.org/10.47442/blj.v7.i1.81
Pérez-Martínez, A. y Rodríguez-Fernández, A. (2022). Desmitificando al ser humano desde la Economía Conductual. Revista humanidades, 12(1), 349301. https://doi.org/10.15517/h.v12i1.49301 DOI: https://doi.org/10.15517/h.v12i1.49301
Pérez-Martínez, A. y Rodríguez-Fernández, A. (2024). Contribuciones a la racionalidad del agente económico. Economía y Negocios, 15(2), 121-135. https://doi.org/https:/doi.org/10.29019/eyn.v15i2.1362 DOI: https://doi.org/10.29019/eyn.v15i2.1362
Read, D. y Loewenstein, G. (2000). Time and decision: introduction to the special issue. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 13, 141-144. https://acortar.link/O9xF29 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1099-0771(200004/06)13:2<141::AID-BDM347>3.0.CO;2-U
Redden, J. P. (2007). Hyperbolic Discounting. En R. F. Baumeister y D. Kathleen Vohs (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Social Psychology, (pp. 450-452) SAGE Publications. https://acortar.link/TG40TZ
Reuben, E., Sapienza, P. y Zingales, L. (2015). Procrastination and Impatience. Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics, 58, 63-76. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socec.2015.07.005 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socec.2015.07.005
Rodríguez, P. (2018). Inteligencia artificial. Cómo cambiará el mundo (y tu vida). Epublibre. https://acortar.link/XDFPbN
Tanaka, T., Camerer, C. y Nguyen, Q. (2010). Risk and time preference: Linking experimental and household survey data from Vietnam. American Economic Review, 100(1), 557-571. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.100.1.557 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.100.1.557
Thaler, R. (1981). Some empirical evidence on dynamic inconsistency. Economic Letters, 8(3), 201-207. https://doi.org/10.1016/0165-1765(81)90067-7 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0165-1765(81)90067-7
Thaler, R. H. y Benartzi, S. (2004). Save More Tomorrow: Using Behavioral Economics to Increase Employee Saving. Journal of Political Economy, 112(S1). https://doi.org/10.1086/380085 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/380085
Thaler, R. H. y Sunstein, C. R. (2009). Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth and Happiness. Penguin Books.
Towe, S. L., Hobkirk, A. L., Ye, D. G. y Meade, C. S. (2015). Adaptation of the Monetary Choice Questionnaire to accommodate extreme monetary discounting in cocaine users. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 29(4), 1048-1055. https://acortar.link/nLzDqS DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/adb0000101
Vanderveldt, A., Oliveira, L. y Green, L. (2016). Delay discounting: Pigeon, rat, human - does it matter? Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Learning and Cognition, 42(2),
141-162. https://doi.org/10.1037/xan0000097 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/xan0000097
Wileyto, E. P., Audrian-McGovern, J., Epstein, L. H. y Lerman, C. (2004). Using logistic regression to estimate delay-discounting functions. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, & Computers, 36(1), 41-51. https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03195548 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03195548
Zauberman, G. y Kim, B. K. (2011). Time Perception and Retirement Saving: Lessons from Behavioral Decision Research. Pension Research Council WP, 2010-2035. https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1707666 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1707666
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Armenio Pérez Martínez, Guido Mantilla Buenaño, Oscar Parada Gutiérrez
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under Creative Commons Non Commercial, No Derivatives Attribution 4.0. International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.), that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
