Management and time preferences for lakes restoration in Brazil.

As in many developing countries, the eutrophication of lakes has become one of the most severe environmental problems in Brazil. We implemented a choice experiment to investigate local preferences for the restoration of five lakes in the city of Campos dos Goytacazes, Brazil. This study focuses on two attributes of the proposed environmental project: 1) the delay in reaching the targeted level of water quality and 2) the institution that would manage the lakes restoration project. Choice responses are analyzed using a mixed logit model to control for potential heterogeneity among respondents. Results show that the willingness to pay for lakes restoration decays with restoration time in a non-linear fashion. Findings also indicate that respondents would prefer an interinstitutional, non-governmental committee over the municipal government to manage the lakes restoration project.

Influence of time orientation on food choice: Case study with cookie labels.

Time orientation can influence health-related behaviors, including food consumption. The aim of the present work was to study the influence of time orientation on food choice, using cookie labels as case study. A choice-conjoint task was designed using labels differing in type of cookie (chocolate chips vs. granola), front-of-pack nutrition information (nutritional warnings vs. Facts Up Front system) and nutritional claim (no claim vs. "0% cholesterol. 0% trans fat"). An online study was conducted, in which 155 participants evaluated 8 pairs of cookie labels and selected the one they would buy if they were in the supermarket. Then, they were asked to complete a consideration of future consequences scale (CFC) adapted to eating habits, as well as a questionnaire about socio-demographic characteristics. Time orientation influenced participants' choices of cookies labels; particularly the importance attached to type of cookie. Participants with greater consideration of future consequences preferred the granola cookies, associated with health, while those who prioritized immediate consequences preferred chocolate chip cookies. In addition, nutritional warnings discouraged choice regardless of participants' time orientation. Results from the present work provide additional evidence of the influence of time preferences on food choices and suggest that strategies to stimulate and generate a more future-oriented perspective on eating habits could contribute to more healthful food choices.

Discounting and Digit Ratio: Low 2D:4D Predicts Patience for a Sample of Females.

Inter-temporal trade-offs are ubiquitous in human decision making. We study the relationship between preferences over such trade-offs and the ratio of the second digit to that of the forth (2D:4D), a marker for pre-natal exposure to sex hormones. Specifically, we study whether 2D:4D affects discounting. Our sample consists of 419 female participants of a Guatemalan conditional cash transfer program who take part in an experiment. Their choices in the convex time budget (CTB) experimental task allow us to make inferences regarding their patience (discounting), while controlling for present-biasedness and preference for smoothing consumption (utility curvature). We find that women with lower digit ratios tend to be more patient.