The Evolution of Time Preference in Hunter Gatherer Societies

The School of Economics and Finance invites you to a seminar presented by Professor Arthur J.Robson from Simon Fraser University

24 November 2026 from 12.30 pm - 1.30 pm

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RH103, Rutherford House, Pipitea Campus

Author: Arthur J Robson

Abstract:

We investigate the implications of an evolutionary demographic approach to time preference. This generates the simplest standard form of time preference, where an intertemporal consumption stream is evaluated as a sum of flow utilities weighted by a geometrically growing discount factor. A geometrically growing contribution to the discount factor arises from a new source—population growth. There is also a contribution from mortality to discounting, which is a well-known effect, being described by Fisher (1930). Such time preference might have been exercised in hunter-gatherer societies despite the lack of opportunities to borrow or save, involving instead the substantial intergenerational transfers then prevalent. The pure rate of time preference found theoretically is shown to be capable of accounting for moderate modern observations.

About Speaker:

Professor Arthur John Robson is a Full Professor of Economics at Simon Fraser University (SFU), where he has taught since 2003.
He holds dual citizenship in New Zealand and Canada and earned his B.Sc. with First Class Honours in Mathematics from Victoria University of Wellington in 1968.
He completed his Ph.D. in Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1974 under the supervision of Nobel laureate Professor Robert M. Solow.
Before joining SFU, he was a faculty member at the University of Western Ontario from 1975 to 2003.
At SFU, he held the Canada Research Chair in Economic Theory and Evolution from 2003 to 2017 and served as a University Professor from 2017 to 2022.
His research focuses on the biological evolution of economic behaviour, game theory, microeconomics, preferences, and risk-taking.
Professor Robson has published more than 80 papers over five decades in leading journals in economics and related fields.
His influential research examines how evolutionary forces shape human preferences, decision-making, risk attitudes, intelligence, and strategic behaviour.
He has received numerous honours, including fellowships from the Econometric Society, Royal Society of Canada, Game Theory Society, and Canadian Economics Association, as well as the John Rae Prize.
His recent work continues to explore risk perception, equity markets, adaptive utility, decision theory, and the evolutionary foundations of economic preferences.