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Koch, A., Nafziger, J., Suvorov, A. and van de Ven, J. (2014). Self-rewards and personal motivation European Economic Review, 68:151--167.

  • Journal
    European Economic Review
View publication

Self-administered rewards are ubiquitous. They serve as incentives for personal accomplishments and are widely recommended to increase personal motivation. We show that in a model with time-inconsistent and reference-dependent preferences, self-rewards can be a credible and effective tool to overcome self-control problems. We also discuss the different types of self-rewards the individual can use, such as vice goods and virtue goods, and analyze which types of goods the individual prefers.