Using behavioural economic insights to overcome student procrastination

本研究旨在通过经济学实验，研究当前偏向时间偏好、拖延与在校成绩之间的关系。对人力资本的投资为学生、家庭、雇主和社会带来了经济利益，但其好处是在遥远的未来实现的。由于这些直接成本和延迟收益，行为经济学理论预测，学生将会拖延。本项目将确定拖延症风险最大的学生的特征，评估克服拖延症的实用策略，并研究拖延症是否与较差的结果有关。这应该有助于学校和政策制定者减少教育不平等，并为学生的生活带来长期利益。

This project aims to study the relations between present-biased time preference, procrastination, and achievement at school, using economic experiments. Investment in human capital generates economic benefits for students, families, employers, and society, but its benefits are realised far into the future. Because of these immediate costs and delayed benefits, behavioural economic theory predicts that students will procrastinate. This project will identify the characteristics of students at greatest risk of procrastination, evaluate practical strategies to overcome it, and examine whether it is associated with poorer outcomes. This should help schools and policy makers reduce educational inequalities, and yield long-term benefits over students’ lives.