Editing Dynamic inconsistency (section)

{{short description|When a decision-maker's future preferences can contradict earlier preferences}}
{{More footnotes|date=November 2014}}

In [[economics]], '''dynamic inconsistency''' or '''time inconsistency''' is a situation in which a [[Rational agent|decision-maker]]'s [[preferences]] change over time in such a way that a preference can become inconsistent at another point in time. This can be thought of as there being many different "selves" within decision makers, with each "self" representing the decision-maker at a different point in time; the inconsistency occurs when not all preferences are aligned.

The term "dynamic inconsistency" is more closely affiliated with [[game theory]], whereas "time inconsistency" is more closely affiliated with [[behavioral economics]].{{Vague|date=March 2009}}{{citation needed|date=March 2015}}