Delay aversion under a general class of preferences

- I study the characterization of delay aversion in a general class of intertemporal utility functions by adapting the behavioral definition introduced by Benoit and Ok (2007).
- I show that when the utility functions are partially differentiable, an agent is more delay averse if and only if he has higher marginal intertemporal rate of substitution between any two consecutive consumption periods.
- When the utility functions are unbounded, not necessarily differentiable, I show that it suffices to check for delay aversion for any two consecutive consumption periods.
- I apply the main results to study delay aversion when the utility functions have a specific form or structure. When preferences are represented by a recursive utility function, not necessarily differentiable, I provide a simple transformation rule to represent a more delay averse agent. I also study delay aversion when the preferences are represented the Epstein-Hynes utility function.

I study the characterization of delay aversion in a general class of intertemporal utility functions by adapting the behavioral definition introduced by Benoit and Ok (2007). I show that when the utility functions are partially differentiable, an agent is more delay averse if and only if he has higher marginal intertemporal rate of substitution between any two consecutive consumption periods. When preferences are represented by a recursive utility function, not necessarily differentiable, I provide a simple transformation rule to represent a more delay averse agent.