Editing Time preference (section)

=== Age & Income ===
The effect of age on discounting has long been studied. There are many theories as to why age might affect time preference: risk tolerance, time perspective, and importantly, the covariant of income. In one of the most cited studies on this topic describes this interaction, the authors find that in a high-income group, discounting was the same across ages. However, within the group of older adults, being low income greatly increased discounting.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Green |first1=L. |last2=Myerson |first2=J. |last3=Lichtman |first3=D. |last4=Rosen |first4=S. |last5=Fry |first5=A. |date=March 1996 |title=Temporal discounting in choice between delayed rewards: the role of age and income |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8726373/ |journal=Psychology and Aging |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=79–84 |doi=10.1037/0882-7974.11.1.79 |issn=0882-7974 |pmid=8726373}}</ref> A recent meta-analysis on the effect of age alone concluded that there is no effect of age alone on discounting.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Seaman |first1=Kendra L. |last2=Abiodun |first2=Sade J. |last3=Fenn |first3=Zöe |last4=Samanez-Larkin |first4=Gregory R. |last5=Mata |first5=Rui |date=February 2022 |title=Temporal discounting across adulthood: A systematic review and meta-analysis |journal=Psychology and Aging |volume=37 |issue=1 |pages=111–124 |doi=10.1037/pag0000634 |issn=1939-1498 |pmc=8827494 |pmid=35113618}}</ref> A response to this article explained that although there may be no overall effect, within specific income groups, there are differences by age. Although age doesn’t affect high-income people’s time preferences, it does affect the low-income group. Younger, low-income people have higher discounting than older, low-income people. They also provide a mechanism by which this phenomenon occurs: a scarcity mindset increases discounting. By controlling for scarcity, the differences in discounting disappeared. Such results indicate that low-income, younger people experience more distress caused by scarcity, which causes them to want rewards more immediately.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Wan |first1=Haoran |last2=Myerson |first2=Joel |last3=Green |first3=Leonard |last4=Strube |first4=Michael J. |last5=Hale |first5=Sandra |date=September 2024 |title=Age-related differences in delay discounting: Income matters |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38647450/ |journal=Psychology and Aging |volume=39 |issue=6 |pages=632–643 |doi=10.1037/pag0000818 |issn=1939-1498 |pmid=38647450|doi-access=free }}</ref>