Abstract
People have limited attention, especially when getting busy. They also possess a capability of fast thinking that requires little, if any, attention. Are people more prone to fast thinking when their attention becomes more limited, e.g., due to escalated busyness? We examine this issue using novel non-experimental data from an online peer-to-peer lending market in China. From over 4.6 million investment decisions, we document a substantial amount of instant loan bids (i.e., those confirmed within only a few seconds) which help identify the fast-thinking mode in real economic decision-making. We find that bids placed within busy working hours with more attention constraint are associated with a significantly higher likelihood of being instant, suggesting that limited attention increases the propensity of fast thinking.
| Original language | English |
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| Publication status | Published - 4 Jan 2019 |
| Externally published | Yes |
| Event | Allied Social Science Associations 2019 Annual Meeting - Atlanta , United States Duration: 4 Jan 2019 → 6 Jan 2019 https://www.aeaweb.org/conference/2019 |
Conference
| Conference | Allied Social Science Associations 2019 Annual Meeting |
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| Country/Territory | United States |
| City | Atlanta |
| Period | 4/01/19 → 6/01/19 |
| Internet address |