A note on inattention: Evidence from library services in São Paulo

Resumo

This note provides evidence on inattention in an information
commons. Employing a large dataset compiling daily transactions
in libraries, we compare a specific compliance behavior of library
users over weekdays. If inattention affects rule compliance, then
one would plausibly expect greater return delays in periods of
potentially higher inattention, such as the day before weekends,
holidays, and exam weeks. We found robust evidence of a day of
the week effect: inattention, as approximately measured by delays
in returning checked out books, is consistently higher on Fridays.
Meanwhile, there is no evidence of such an inattentive behavior in
dates near holidays, or exam weeks