Temporal discounting mediates the relationship between socio-economic status and social trust

Social trust and income are associated both within and across countries, such that higher income typically correlates with increased trust. While this correlation is well-documented, the psychological mechanisms sustaining this relationship remain poorly understood. One plausible candidate is people’s temporal discounting: on the one hand, trust has a strong time component—it exposes the individual to immediate costs in exchange of uncertain and delayed benefits; on the other hand, temporal discounting is robustly influenced by income. The goal of our studies was to test whether temporal discounting mediates the relationship between income and trust and whether experimentally manipulating perceived income has a downstream impact on temporal discounting and trust. To do so, participants who underestimated their relative income position received information about their true position in the income distribution in order to correct their misperception. Our results indicate that temporal discounting partially mediates the effect of income on social trust in a pre-registered online study on British participants ( N = 855). However, receiving a positive information shock on one’s income position had no impact on either temporal discounting or social trust. In a second pre-registered study, we replicated the finding that temporal discounting partially mediates the effect of income on social trust in a representative sample of the British population ( N = 1130).

The Fund’s Income Position For FY 2020 -- Actual Outcome

This paper reports on the Fund’s income position for FY 2020 following the closing of the Fund’s accounts for the financial year and completion of the external audit. Net operational income was about SDR 1.4 billion, slightly higher than estimated in the April supplement, mainly reflecting higher investment income. However, the unrealized pension-related adjustment in FY 2020, stemming mainly from the actuarial remeasurement of staff retirement plan assets and liabilities, was larger than previously estimated and more than offset the Fund’s net operational income, contributing to an overall net loss of about SDR 1.4 billion for the year.

Does Migration Pay Off in Later Life? Income and Subjective Well-Being of Older Migrants in Europe

This study examines whether intra-European migration pays off in terms of income and subjective well-being (SWB) for migrants aged 50 + who are now growing old abroad and in what way their SWB is associated with their relative income position. Using panel data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe allows us to go beyond the classical comparison with the native reference group and draw on information about respondents who stayed in the place of origin (‘stayers’). Our findings indicate that migration does pay off in later life. Compared to similar stayers, migrants have higher income and higher SWB levels. Furthermore, we find that older migrants’ SWB is positively associated with their relative income position for those with an income above the income of both stayers in the origin and natives in the destination country.

Review Of The Fund’s Income Position For FY 2020 And FY 2021-2022

This paper reviews the Fund’s income position for FY 2020 and FY 2021–22. It updates the April 2019 projections and proposes decisions for the current year. The paper also includes a proposed decision to set the margin for the rate of charge for financial years 2021 and 2022. Projections of the Fund’s income are subject to larger than normal uncertainties related to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on key assumptions. For FY 2020, these uncertainties relate mainly to the discount rate used to measure the Fund’s retirement plan obligations at April 30, 2020 and to the full year asset returns on the retirement plan and the Endowment Subaccount (EA), given the recent volatility in financial markets. For FY 2021–22, a key additional uncertainty is the scale of new lending associated with the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Correcting misperceptions of relative income: impact on temporal discounting and social trust.

Social trust and income are associated both within and across countries, such that higher income typically correlates with increased trust. While this correlation is well-documented, the psychological mechanisms sustaining this relationship remain poorly understood. One plausible candidate is people's temporal discounting: on the one hand, trust has a strong time component - it exposes the individual to immediate costs in exchange of uncertain and delayed benefits; on the other hand, temporal discounting is robustly influenced by income. The goal of our studies was to test whether temporal discounting mediates the relationship between income and trust and whether experimentally manipulating perceived income has a downstream impact on temporal discounting and trust. To do so, participants underestimating their relative income position were randomized to receiving information about their true position in the income distribution or no information. In line with our hypothesis, our results indicate that temporal discounting mediates the effect of income on social trust in a pre-registered online study on British participants (N = 855). However, receiving a positive information shock on one's income position had no impact on either temporal discounting or social trust. In a second pre-registered study, we replicated the finding that temporal discounting mediates the effect of income on social trust in a representative sample of the British population (N = 1130).