Yale University, New Haven, CT.
Am Econ Rev. 2013 Apr;103(2):690-731. doi: 10.1257/aer.103.2.690.
Languages differ widely in the ways they encode time. I test the hypothesis that the languages that grammatically associate the future and the present, foster future-oriented behavior. This prediction arises naturally when well-documented effects of language structure are merged with models of intertemporal choice. Empirically, I find that speakers of such languages: save more, retire with more wealth, smoke less, practice safer sex, and are less obese. This holds both across countries and within countries when comparing demographically similar native households. The evidence does not support the most obvious forms of common causation. I discuss implications for theories of intertemporal choice.
语言在编码时间的方式上存在很大差异。我检验了这样一个假设，即那些在语法上把未来和现在联系起来的语言，会培养出面向未来的行为。当语言结构的影响与跨期选择模型很好地结合在一起时，这个预测就自然而然地产生了。经验上，我发现讲这种语言的人：储蓄更多，退休时财富更多，吸烟更少，安全性行为更多，肥胖率更低。这在国家之间和国家内部都是如此，只要比较人口统计学上相似的本地家庭。证据并不支持最明显的共同因果形式。我讨论了这些证据对跨期选择理论的意义。
