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Title: Focusing as Commitment

Abstract: The paper analyzes the decisions of a β − δ consumer who has the ability, through effort invested in focusing on the future, to set the exponential discount factor δ that will apply to her self in the next period. She has access to no other commitment technology. Because the model interprets dynamic inconsistency in a way that gives rise to the demand for costly self-control, it disambiguates the welfare benefit of formal commitment devices that limit future options. The model explains why cognitive loading is associated with impulsivity and why savings rates have exhibited increased income stratification since the 1980s. The model additionally offers a unifying theory of visionary leadership, managerial training, motivational speakers, and role models.