040062 UK Behavioral Economics (MA) (2020S)
Track in Behavioral Economics and Experiments
Continuous assessment of course work
Labels
Registration/Deregistration
Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).
- Registration is open from Mo 10.02.2020 09:00 to We 19.02.2020 12:00
- Registration is open from Tu 25.02.2020 09:00 to We 26.02.2020 12:00
- Deregistration possible until Th 30.04.2020 23:59
Details
max. 50 participants
Language: English
Lecturers
Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N
- Thursday 05.03. 08:00 - 09:30 Hörsaal 8 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
- Friday 06.03. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal 9 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
- Friday 13.03. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal 9 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
- Thursday 19.03. 08:00 - 09:30 Hörsaal 8 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
- Friday 20.03. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal 9 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
- Thursday 26.03. 08:00 - 09:30 Hörsaal 8 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
- Friday 27.03. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal 9 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
- Thursday 02.04. 08:00 - 09:30 Hörsaal 8 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
- Friday 03.04. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal 9 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
- Thursday 23.04. 08:00 - 09:30 Hörsaal 8 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
- Friday 24.04. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal 9 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
- Thursday 30.04. 08:00 - 09:30 Hörsaal 8 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
- Thursday 07.05. 08:00 - 09:30 Hörsaal 8 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
- Friday 08.05. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal 9 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
- Thursday 14.05. 08:00 - 09:30 Hörsaal 8 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
- Friday 15.05. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal 9 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
- Friday 22.05. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal 9 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
- Thursday 28.05. 08:00 - 09:30 Hörsaal 8 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
- Friday 29.05. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal 9 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
- Thursday 04.06. 08:00 - 09:30 Hörsaal 8 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
- Friday 05.06. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal 9 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
- Friday 12.06. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal 9 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
- Thursday 18.06. 08:00 - 09:30 Hörsaal 8 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
- Friday 19.06. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal 9 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
- Thursday 25.06. 08:00 - 09:30 Hörsaal 8 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
- Friday 26.06. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal 9 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
Information
Aims, contents and method of the course
This course is designed to make you familiar with the most relevant concepts from behavioral economics. After following this course, you will be able to answer the following paradoxes:- Why do people pay more for a diamond than for a month’s water consumption even though water is more useful?- Why are people willing to pay only a modest fee for a lottery of infinite value?-How could the same individual gamble and buy insurance at the same time?- Under standard economic theory rejecting a lottery offering -1.0 Euro with 50% chance and 1.1 Euro with 50% chance implies rejecting a lottery offering infinity Euros with 50% chance.-Why do people exhibit a preference for known risks over unknown risks?-Why do people make plans that they cannot fulfill?-Why aren't there more tragedy of the commons?To explain these paradoxes, you are going to get acquainted with the most relevant theories in the field. Namely rank-dependent utility theory, cumulative prospect theory, hyperbolic discounting, inequity aversion, level-k theory, and quantal response equilibrium.To understand these alternative theories, we will also review and understand their standard economics counterparts: expected value, expected utility theory, exponential discounting utility, and Nash equilibrium.Rather than only introducing and reviewing these models through mathematical formulae, I also focus on their behavioral foundations, i.e. their axioms. For the first couple of models we will see how these foundations of preference translate into the mathematical formulae you might be familiar with. This process makes clear that abstract concepts such as utility and (subjective) probability have an intuitive behavioral foundation.Finally, note that my job is to convince you that the alternative theories that I present are better descriptive approximations than their standard counterparts with the support of data from experiments, data from surveys, data from economic phenomena, and your own decisions!
Assessment and permitted materials
The grade of the course will be assessed using these criteria:
-Midterm Exam ( weighting 35% of the total grade): tests the student's knowledge of the first half of the course.
-Final Exam (weighting 35% of the total grade): tests the student's knowledge of the course.
-Problem Sets (weighting 30% of the total grade): A total of three problem sets throughout the course that serve as a training for the exams.In each of these criteria students can attain a maximum total of 100 points. To guarantee consistency, each of these criteria, as well as the final note of the course, can be converted to the University grading scheme according to the following scale:-1: 100 points-86 points
-2: 85 points-70 points
-3: 69 points-60 points
-4: 59 points-50 points
-5: less than 50 points.This means that to pass the course the student needs to attain at least 50% of all available points.
-Midterm Exam ( weighting 35% of the total grade): tests the student's knowledge of the first half of the course.
-Final Exam (weighting 35% of the total grade): tests the student's knowledge of the course.
-Problem Sets (weighting 30% of the total grade): A total of three problem sets throughout the course that serve as a training for the exams.In each of these criteria students can attain a maximum total of 100 points. To guarantee consistency, each of these criteria, as well as the final note of the course, can be converted to the University grading scheme according to the following scale:-1: 100 points-86 points
-2: 85 points-70 points
-3: 69 points-60 points
-4: 59 points-50 points
-5: less than 50 points.This means that to pass the course the student needs to attain at least 50% of all available points.
Minimum requirements and assessment criteria
Students should have completed an intermediate microeconomics course, where they gained basic knowledge on consumer theory and game theory.
Examination topics
Week 1: Motivation (of the course) and Utility
Week 2: Expected Value and Expected Utility Theory.
Week 3: Anomalies of Expected Utility and Rank-Dependence.
Week 4: Cumulative Prospect theory.
Week 5: Ambiguity Aversion and Source Dependence.
Week 6: Exponential Discounted Utility.
Week 7: Midterm week.
Week 8: Anomalies of Exponential Discounted Utility and Hyperbolic Discounting.
Week 9: Tools of game theory and anomalies of strategic interaction.
Week 10: Anomalies of strategic interaction and level k-theory.
Week 11: Inequity aversion and other theories of social preferences.
Week 12: Final exam week.
Week 2: Expected Value and Expected Utility Theory.
Week 3: Anomalies of Expected Utility and Rank-Dependence.
Week 4: Cumulative Prospect theory.
Week 5: Ambiguity Aversion and Source Dependence.
Week 6: Exponential Discounted Utility.
Week 7: Midterm week.
Week 8: Anomalies of Exponential Discounted Utility and Hyperbolic Discounting.
Week 9: Tools of game theory and anomalies of strategic interaction.
Week 10: Anomalies of strategic interaction and level k-theory.
Week 11: Inequity aversion and other theories of social preferences.
Week 12: Final exam week.
Reading list
Wakker, P. P. (2010). Prospect theory: For risk and ambiguity. Cambridge university press.Dhami, S. (2016). The foundations of behavioral economic analysis. Oxford University Press.Gilboa, I. (2009). Theory of decision under uncertainty (Vol. 45). Cambridge university press.
Association in the course directory
Last modified: Mo 07.09.2020 15:19