Patience in foraging-horticultural society: a test of competing hypotheses

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cg.authorship.typesCGIAR single centreen_US
cg.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1086/jar.60.2.3630815en_US
cg.identifier.projectIFPRI - Archiveen_US
cg.issn0091-7710en_US
cg.issn2153-3806en_US
cg.issue2en_US
cg.journalJournal of Anthropological Researchen_US
cg.reviewStatusPeer Reviewen_US
cg.volume60en_US
dc.contributor.authorGodoy, Ricardoen_US
dc.contributor.authorByron, Elizabethen_US
dc.contributor.authorReyes-Garcia, Victoriaen_US
dc.contributor.authorLeonard, William. R.en_US
dc.contributor.authorPatel, K.en_US
dc.contributor.authorApaza, Lilianen_US
dc.contributor.authorPerez, Eddyen_US
dc.contributor.authorVadez, Vincenten_US
dc.contributor.authorWilkie, Daviden_US
dc.date.accessioned2024-10-24T12:50:57Zen_US
dc.date.available2024-10-24T12:50:57Zen_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/157599en_US
dc.titlePatience in foraging-horticultural society: a test of competing hypothesesen_US
dcterms.abstractPatience, or the ability to delay gratification, matters in the behavioral and medical sciences and in public policy because it correlates with a wide range of desirable outcomes. For instance, patience correlates positively with income, wealth, conservation of natural resources, health, and savings and negatively with crime and drug addiction. Anthropologists have made few contributions to crosscultural studies of patience despite its importance. Drawing on five-quarter panel data from 154 Amerindians (10-80 years of age) from the Tsimane’ foraging horticultural society in the Bolivian Amazon, we use hyperbolic and exponential discounting to estimate patience and the correlation between patience and (a) modern human capital, (b) personal affluence, and (c) age. Levels of impatience in Tsimane’ society are higher than in Western societies. We find a strong negative correlation between schooling and impatience and a weaker, but still negative, correlation between impatience and modern human-capital skills. We find mixed support for (b), probably because of sharing and reciprocity. We also find mixed support for (c), probably because of a truncated sample and measurement error of the age variable. We discuss areas for future research to encourage anthropologists to contribute to the cross-cultural understanding of patience.en_US
dcterms.accessRightsLimited Accessen_US
dcterms.bibliographicCitationGodoy, Ricardo; Byron, Elizabeth; Reyes-Garcia, Victoria; Leonard William. R.; Patel, K.; Apaza, Lilian; Perez, Eddy; Vadez, Vincent; Wilkie, David. 2004. Patience in foraging-horticultural society: a test of competing hypotheses. Journal of Anthropological Research 60(2): 179-202. https://doi.org/10.1086/jar.60.2.3630815en_US
dcterms.extentpp. 179-202en_US
dcterms.issued2004-07en_US
dcterms.languageenen_US
dcterms.publisherUniversity of Chicago Pressen_US
dcterms.replaceshttps://ebrary.ifpri.org/digital/collection/p15738coll5/id/1760en_US
dcterms.subjectforagingen_US
dcterms.subjecthorticultureen_US
dcterms.typeJournal Articleen_US

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