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Scarcity and cognitive function around payday: A conceptual and empirical analysis

Abstract:
The ongoing demands around smoothing consumption with low and sporadic income flows in contexts of scarcity entail that minor changes in cash flows can have big psychological and behavioral effects. In this paper, we examine the behavioral and cognitive impact of routine periodic fluctuations in financial status of the poor around paydays. In particular, we draw a link between a range of documented behaviors and an increase in scarcity-induced cognitive load, closer to payday. Our results, along with those of others briefly reviewed, illustrate the outsized role in scarcity contexts of otherwise trivial changes in income flows and highlight the importance of carefully structured research designs in studying the myriad challenges in scarcity contexts.
Publication status:
Published
Peer review status:
Peer reviewed

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Publisher copy:
10.1086/709885

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Institution:
University of Oxford
Division:
SSD
Department:
Blavatnik School of Government
Role:
Author


Publisher:
University of Chicago Press
Journal:
Journal of the Association for Consumer Research More from this journal
Volume:
5
Issue:
4
Article number:
709885
Publication date:
2020-07-07
Acceptance date:
2020-01-31
DOI:
EISSN:
2378-1823
ISSN:
2378-1815


Language:
English
Keywords:
Pubs id:
1088065
Local pid:
pubs:1088065
Deposit date:
2020-02-18
ARK identifier:

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