Lucas Reddinger

Biography

Lucas Reddinger is a postdoctoral researcher and manager of the Vernon Smith Experimental Economics Laboratory at Purdue University. He received his Ph.D. in Economics from UC Santa Barbara (2022) and both a B.A. in Philosophy and an M.A. in Applied Economics from Montana State University. Using laboratory and field experiments, his research examines decision-making under risk and time, belief formation, strategic interaction, and behavioral public health. His broader agenda focuses on self-control, household finance, and interventions that mitigate behavioral biases.

Job Market Paper Title

"Temptation: Immediacy and Certainty"

Abstract

Is an option especially tempting when it is both immediate and certain? I test the effect of risk on the present-bias factor under quasi-hyperbolic discounting. In my experiment workers allocate about thirty to fifty minutes of real-effort tasks between two weeks. I study dynamic consistency by comparing choices made two days in advance of the workday with choices made when work is imminent. My novel design permits estimation of present bias using a decision with a consequence that is both immediate and certain. I find far greater present bias when the consequence is certain, with broad implications for any economic decision involving a present-biased individual. I offer a methodological remedy for experimental economists.

JEL Codes: C91, D80, D90