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EMAC 2024 Annual


The Cost of Saving Time: The Unintended Consequences of Saving Time for Low-Income People
(A2024-119565)

Published: May 28, 2024

AUTHORS

Nazli Gurdamar-Okutur, Koc University; Hanife Armut, Koc University

ABSTRACT

As income inequality continues to grow, it causes not only financial hardships but also social challenges for individuals with lower incomes. We investigate how people with lower incomes are perceived by the general public when they engage in time-saving purchases. In six studies, we demonstrate that individuals with lower incomes are perceived as lazier, less competent, and less moral when they spend money to save time as opposed to spending time to save money. This phenomenon is particularly pronounced among people holding a lay belief that saving time is luxury: people think of saved time as free time and associate it with leisure, and having free time is not seen as permissible for low-income people. However, we find that using the saved time for work, as opposed to leisure, can mitigate these negative judgments. These judgments can affect donations to charities helping low-income individuals and can have implications for policymakers.