Open up the poverty loop: The influence of social class on intertemporal choice

Research has indicated that poverty and inequality among social classes can be a processive and intergenerational problem. Drawing from class-based social cognitive theory and cognitive-experiential self-theory, we propose that socioeconomic status (both subjective and objective) is linked to individual intertemporal decision-making through financial literacy and rational thinking. We tested our proposed theoretical relationships through two studies: an analysis of a large archival dataset, as well as a field survey. First, using CART analysis, we find that financial literacy and objective socioeconomic status possess predictive power over intertemporal choice outcomes: as an individual's financial literacy and objective socioeconomic hierarchy increase, so does their likelihood of saving money in the present rather than spending it. Furthermore, our findings indicate that financial literacy and rational thinking serve as mediators between social class and intertemporal choice. The results provide a more sophisticated view of how social class shapes intertemporal preference and decision-making outcomes.