Temporal Discounting and Financial Decision-Making Among Generation Z Women in Bangkok's Creative Economy: A Qualitative Exploration of Behavioral Economics and Family Planning

This qualitative research investigates the financial decision-making patterns and temporal discounting behaviors among Generation Z women employed in Bangkok's creative economy sectors. Drawing on behavioral economics frameworks and employing in-depth semi-structured interviews with twenty-five participants aged 24-28 years, this study explores how young professional women navigate the complex interplay between immediate financial needs, long-term planning objectives, and family formation decisions. The findings reveal that Generation Z women in creative industries exhibit distinct temporal discounting patterns characterized by heightened present bias due to income volatility, career uncertainty, and the prioritization of experiential investments over traditional savings mechanisms. Thematic analysis identified five major themes including financial autonomy conflicts, digital-native financial behaviors, career-family trade-offs, peer influence dynamics, and institutional distrust. Participants demonstrated sophisticated awareness of behavioral biases yet struggled to implement consistent long-term financial strategies due to structural constraints within the creative economy including irregular income streams, limited employer-provided benefits, and the gig economy's inherent precarity. The research contributes to understanding how cultural contexts, particularly in rapidly developing Asian metropolitan areas, shape financial decision-making among young women professionals. Implications for financial literacy programs, policy interventions, and workplace benefit structures are discussed alongside recommendations for future research examining generational differences in economic behavior within creative industries.