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The Cost of Being Too Patient (WP-20-04)

Paola Giuliano and Paola Sapienza

The researchers study the cost of being too patient on happiness. They find that the relationship

between patience and various measures of subjective well-being is hump-shaped: There exists an optimal

amount of patience that maximizes happiness. Beyond this optimal level, higher levels of patience

have a negative impact on well-being.

Paola Giuliano, Professor of Economics, University of California Los Angeles

Paola Sapienza, Donald C. Clark/HSBC Chair in Consumer Finance Professor and IPR Associate, Northwestern University

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