Watch next
Steven Pinker: What our language habits reveal
arrow
Loading…
Watch later Favorite Download Rate

Keith Chen:
Could your language affect your ability to save money?

TEDGlobal 2012 · 12:13 · Filmed Jun 2012
30 subtitle languages Help with subtitles
View interactive transcript
Share this idea
Watch Later Download Rate Embed this talk
Other sharing services
Other sharing services
1,424,288 Total views
Your impact
Share this talk and
track your influence!

What can economists learn from linguists? Behavioral economist Keith Chen introduces a fascinating pattern from his research: that languages without a concept for the future — "It rain tomorrow," instead of "It will rain tomorrow" — correlate strongly with high savings rates.

Keith Chen
Behavioral Economist
Keith Chen's new research suggests that the language you speak may impact the way you think about your future. Full bio
This talk was presented at an official TED conference, and was featured by our editors on the home page.
Get all the talks from TEDGlobal 2012 at TED Live
Playlists to watch
Browse all

Related talks

17:27

Steven Pinker
What our language habits reveal

20:10

Mark Pagel
How language transformed humanity

13:20

Hans Rosling
Religions and babies

09:39

Nancy Lublin
The heartbreaking text that inspired a crisis help line

15:17

Christine Sun Kim
The enchanting music of sign language

13:03

Meklit Hadero
The unexpected beauty of everyday sounds

Learn more

Arrow
Money on the mind

The behavioral economist explains how the way we talk about the future can affect the way we invest.

Arrow
Can language affect the way we think?

Who's to blame for accidents? What colors do you see? Your answers might depend on the languages you speak.

Discuss

330 comments

Enthusiastically agree? Respectfully beg to differ? Have your say here.

2000 characters remaining
Don't have an account? Sign up now — it's fast and free.
Sort comments by
There are currently no comments for this talk.
Show more comments