You&#x27;re right, there have been several economics studies showing that poverty causes stress which makes it more difficult to make decisions that are &quot;rational&quot; in a classical economics sense, such as sacrificing in the short-term for a long-term pay off. Searching &quot;behavioural economics poverty&quot; turns up a lot of good articles, here&#x27;s an overview:<p><a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.economist.com&#x2F;news&#x2F;finance-and-economics&#x2F;21635477-behavioural-economics-meets-development-policy-poor-behaviour" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.economist.com&#x2F;news&#x2F;finance-and-economics&#x2F;21635477...</a>