Dynamic optimization and conformity in health behavior and life enjoyment over the life cycle.

ABSTRACT: This article examines individual and social influences on investments in health and enjoyment from immediate consumption. Our lab experiment mimics the problem of health investment over a lifetime (Grossman, 1972a,b). Incentives to find the appropriate expenditures on life enjoyment and health are given by making in each period come period a function of previous health investments. In order to model social effects in the experiment, we randomly assigned individuals to chat/observation groups. Groups were permitted to freely chat between repeated lifetimes. Two treatments were employed: In the Independent-rewards treatment, an individual's rewards from investments in life enjoyment depend only on his choice and in the Interdependent-rewards treatment; rewards not only depend on an individua

SUBMITTER: Bejarano HD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4468389 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature