Modernisation and Time Preferences in Tanzania: Evidence from a Large-Scale Elicitation Exercise

Assumptions about individual time preferences are important for explanations of poverty and development. Data from a large-scale elicitation exercise in Tanzania show significantly higher levels of impatience in urban areas than in rural areas. This result remains robust to adding controls for socio...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Journal of development studies Vol. 48; no. 4; pp. 564 - 580
Main Authors D'Exelle, Ben, van Campenhout, Bjorn, Lecoutere, Els
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Abingdon Routledge 01.04.2012
Taylor and Francis Journals
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Taylor & Francis (Routledge)
SeriesThe Journal of Development Studies
Subjects
Development Strategies
Humanities and Social Sciences
Modernization
Poverty
Preferences
Regional variation
Rural Areas
Rural Urban Differences
Social sciences
Socioeconomic development
Socioeconomic factors
Tanzania
Time
Traditional Societies
Traditional society
Urban Areas
Tanzania
Social Sciences & Humanities
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Summary:Assumptions about individual time preferences are important for explanations of poverty and development. Data from a large-scale elicitation exercise in Tanzania show significantly higher levels of impatience in urban areas than in rural areas. This result remains robust to adding controls for socio-economic differences between rural and urban areas, which possibly correlate with time preferences. We attribute this to differences in 'modernisation' between urban and rural areas, with modernisation leading to increased impatience. This is corroborated by the observed positive correlation between impatience and education; the latter being an important vehicle of modernisation for traditional societies in Tanzania.
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ISSN:0022-0388
1743-9140
DOI:10.1080/00220388.2011.604411