TY - JOUR AU - Ameriks,John AU - Caplin,Andrew AU - Leahy,John AU - Tyler,Tom TI - Measuring Self-Control JF - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series VL - No. 10514 PY - 2004 Y2 - May 2004 UR - http://www.nber.org/papers/w10514 L1 - http://www.nber.org/papers/w10514.pdf N1 - Author contact info: John Ameriks John Ameriks The Vanguard Group, Inc. PO Box 2600, MS V36 Valley Forge PA 19482 Tel: 610-503-5676 Fax: 610-503-5690 E-Mail: john_ameriks@vanguard.com Andrew Caplin Department of Economics New York University 19 W. 4th Street, 6th Floor New York, NY 10012 Tel: 212/998-8950 Fax: 212/995-3932 E-Mail: andrew.caplin@nyu.edu John V. Leahy Department of Economics New York University 19 W. 4th Street, 6th Floor New York, NY 10012 Tel: 212/992-9770 E-Mail: john.leahy@nyu.edu AB - How significant are individual differences in self-control? Do these differences impact wealth accumulation? From where do they derive? Our survey-based measure of self-control provides insights into all three questions: 1.There are individual differences in self-control not only of a quantitative but also of a qualitative nature. In our sample, standard self-control problems of over-consumption are no more prevalent than are problems of under-consumption. 2.Standard self-control problems do impede wealth accumulation, particularly in liquid form. Problems of under-consumption have the opposite effects. 3.Self-control is linked to conscientiousness' much studied by psychologists. There is a related link with financial planning. ER -