Working Paper

Inconsistent time preferences and on-the-job search - when it pays to be naive

Matthias Fahn, Regina Seibel
CESifo, Munich, 2019

CESifo Working Paper No. 7604

We study optimal employment contracts for present-biased employees who can conduct on-the-job search. Presuming that firms cannot offer long-term contracts, we find that individuals who are naive about their present bias will actually be better off than sophisticated or time-consistent individuals. Moreover, they search more, which partially counteracts the inefficiencies caused by their present bias.

CESifo Category
Behavioural Economics
Labour Markets
JEL Classification: D210, D830, D900, J310, J320