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Cold climates demand more intertemporal self-control than warm climates1

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 August 2013

George Ainslie
George Ainslie*
Affiliation:
School of Economics, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa; Department of Veterans Affairs, Coatesville, PA 19320. George.Ainslie@va.gov www.picoeconomics.org
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Abstract

A climate that is too cold to grow crops for part of the year demands foresight and self-control skills. To the extent that a culture has developed intertemporal bargaining, its members will have more autonomy, but pay the cost of being more compulsive, than members of societies that have not. Monetary resources will be a consequence but will also be fed back as a cause.

Information

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 36 , Issue 5 , October 2013 , pp. 481 - 482
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

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Footnotes

1.

This material is the result of work supported with resources and the use of facilities at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Coatesville, PA, USA. The opinions expressed are not those of the Department of Veterans Affairs or of the U.S. Government. This work is not subject to copyright protection in the United States.

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