Paper #1521

Títol:

Know when to fold 'em: The grit factor

Autors:

Larbi Alaoui i Christian Fons-Rosen

Data:

Abril 2016

Resum:

This paper investigates the way different sides of grit inflence behavior. In addition to grit's upside in achieving economic success associated with not giving up, it might also have a downside associated with not letting go. We split grit into two new categories, tenacity and diligence, and hypothesize that tenacity can lead individuals to go beyond their own intended plan of action when making a loss. We test the predictions with an experiment that elicits each individual's plan of action which we compare to actual choice in a game of luck. Consistent with our priors, grittier individuals have a higher tendency to overplay, and tenacity alone captures the difficulty in respecting ex-ante preferences when this means accepting defeat. We then discuss the external validity of our findings.

Paraules clau:

noncognitive skills; grit; tenacity; diligence.

Codis JEL:

C91; D03; I20

Àrea de Recerca:

Economia Experimental i del Comportament / Economia de l'Empresa i Organització Industrial / Microeconomia / Economia Laboral, Pública, de Desenvolupament i de la Salut

Publicat a:

European Economic Review, 2021,103736, ISSN 0014-2921

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