MPE_BEEK Behavioral economics

Faculty of Economics and Administration
Autumn 2023
Extent and Intensity
2/1/0. 6 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
doc. Ing. Rostislav Staněk, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. Ing. Rostislav Staněk, Ph.D.
Department of Economics – Faculty of Economics and Administration
Contact Person: Mgr. Jarmila Šveňhová
Supplier department: Department of Economics – Faculty of Economics and Administration
Timetable
Wed 16:00–17:50 P106, except Wed 20. 9., except Wed 8. 11.
  • Timetable of Seminar Groups:
MPE_BEEK/01: Tue 10:00–11:50 S301, except Tue 19. 9., except Tue 7. 11., R. Staněk
Prerequisites
Course participants should be familiar with microeconomics on a intermediate level and econometrics on a basic level.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The aim of the course is to introduce students most prominent problems and methods in the field of behavioral economics. Behavioral economics considers the ways that people are more social, more impulsive, less adept at using information, and more susceptible to psychological biases than the standard economic models assume. Student will learn how behavioral economics modifies the model of rational behavior and explore consequences for individuals, firms and policy.
Learning outcomes
At the end of the course, students, will be able to:
- identify evidence for departures of economic behavior from model of rational behavior, and behavioral explanations for these anomalies;
- synthesize different ideas, theories and empirical evidence within the behavioral economics;
- read and understand contemporary papers in the field of behavioral economics;
- estimate behavioral models using real-world data;
- incorporate behavioral perspective into the analysis of private and public policies;
- analyze data from experiments and surveys to answer questions relevant to the behavioral economics
Syllabus
  • 1. Decision under uncertainty
  • - Probability weightening
  • - Reference points
  • - Applications (e.g. labor supply, housing market)
  • 2. Time inconsistency, Self-control and commitment
  • - Exponential discounting
  • - Time inconsistency
  • - Self-control and commitment
  • - Applications (e.g. procrastination, drug policy)
  • 3. Information and biases
  • - Law of small numbers
  • - Confirmatory bias
  • - Overconfidence
  • - Applications
  • 4. Fairness and social preferences
  • - Evidence
  • - Distributional preferences and reciprocity
  • - Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, crowding-out
Literature
    required literature
  • WILKINSON, Nick and Matthias KLAES. An introduction to behavioral economics. 2nd edition. Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012, xiii, 574. ISBN 9780230291461. info
    recommended literature
  • Behavioral economics and its applications. Edited by Peter A. Diamond - Hannu Vartiainen. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2007, xvi, 312. ISBN 9780691122847. info
  • Advances in behavioral economics. Edited by Colin Camerer - George Loewenstein - Matthew Rabin. New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 2004, xxvi, 740. ISBN 0691116822. info
Teaching methods
Lectures, class discussion, data analysis, reading of scientific papers
Assessment methods
The evaluation of the course will be based on the work during the semester (replication exercise and paper presentation) and on a final written test. It is possible to take the course while studying abroad on an exchange program (e.g. Erasmus). The semester work can be done remotely and the final test can be written after returning from the stay abroad. Please contact the teacher before you leave for the exchange program.
Language of instruction
English
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2021, Autumn 2022, Autumn 2024.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2023, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/econ/autumn2023/MPE_BEEK