Universität Wien

040296 UK Behavioral Economics and Policy (BA) (2017W)

8.00 ECTS (4.00 SWS), SPL 4 - Wirtschaftswissenschaften
Continuous assessment of course work

Lecturer: Victor Gonzalez Jimenez

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).

Details

max. 50 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

Monday 02.10. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal 7 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
Tuesday 03.10. 16:45 - 18:15 Hörsaal 10 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 2.Stock
Monday 09.10. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal 7 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
Tuesday 10.10. 16:45 - 18:15 Hörsaal 10 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 2.Stock
Monday 16.10. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal 7 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
Tuesday 17.10. 16:45 - 18:15 Hörsaal 10 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 2.Stock
Monday 23.10. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal 7 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
Tuesday 24.10. 16:45 - 18:15 Hörsaal 10 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 2.Stock
Monday 30.10. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal 7 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
Tuesday 31.10. 16:45 - 18:15 Hörsaal 10 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 2.Stock
Monday 06.11. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal 7 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
Tuesday 07.11. 16:45 - 18:15 Hörsaal 10 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 2.Stock
Monday 13.11. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal 7 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
Tuesday 14.11. 16:45 - 18:15 Hörsaal 10 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 2.Stock
Monday 20.11. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal 7 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
Tuesday 21.11. 16:45 - 18:15 Hörsaal 10 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 2.Stock
Monday 27.11. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal 7 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
Tuesday 28.11. 16:45 - 18:15 Hörsaal 10 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 2.Stock
Monday 04.12. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal 7 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
Tuesday 05.12. 16:45 - 18:15 Hörsaal 10 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 2.Stock
Monday 11.12. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal 7 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
Tuesday 12.12. 16:45 - 18:15 Hörsaal 10 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 2.Stock
Monday 08.01. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal 7 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
Tuesday 09.01. 16:45 - 18:15 Hörsaal 10 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 2.Stock
Monday 15.01. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal 7 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
Tuesday 16.01. 16:45 - 18:15 Hörsaal 10 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 2.Stock
Monday 22.01. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal 7 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
Tuesday 23.01. 16:45 - 18:15 Hörsaal 10 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 2.Stock
Monday 29.01. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal 7 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
Tuesday 30.01. 16:45 - 18:15 Hörsaal 10 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 2.Stock

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

This course is designed for advanced bachelor students. Intermediate knowledge of Microeconomics and basic knowledge of Econometrics is recommended.

The course aims to make students familiar with the most relevant topics of psychology and economics (behavioral economics). Additionally, it seeks to make students familiar with state-of-art applications of these theories, and policy recommendations derived from these applications.

Contents:

The course introduces the students to the most relevant topics of psychology and economics (behavioral economics). After following this course, the students will be familiar with relevant theories in the field such as prospect theory, hyperbolic discounting, and inequity aversion, inattention. Throughout the course, we will study how, in light of these theories, governments and organizations should approach problems such as market regulation, savings, poverty, retirement accounts, employee motivation or taxation.

Method:

The course is divided in four modules. In each of the modules a theory of behavioral economics is presented along with its respective empirical regularities. The applications of each of these theories are discussed along with their policy implications and recommendations.

Assessment and permitted materials

The grade of the course will be assessed using these criteria:

-Quizes (30%)

-Presentation (30%)

-Research Proposal(40%)

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

The score of the quizzes, presentation, and final exam each needs to be higher than a half of the total score.

Examination topics

Module 0: Introduction and Philosophy.

Module 1: Prospect Theory
-Reference points
-Loss aversion
-Probability weighting

Module 2: Time preferences
-Hyperbolic discounting
-Time inconsistency

Module 3: Social Preferences
- Inequity aversion
- Fairness
-
Module 4: Behavioral Welfare Economics

Reading list

• Thaler, Richard H., and Cass R. Sunstein. "Libertarian paternalism." The American Economic Review 93.2 (2003): 175-179.

• Kahneman, Daniel, and Amos Tversky (1979) "Prospect Theory: An Analysis of Decision under Risk", Econometrica, XLVII (1979), 263-291.

• David Laibson, “Golden Eggs and Hyperbolic Discounting,” Quarterly Journal of Economics 112 (1997), pp. 443-478;

• Fehr, Ernst, and Klaus M. Schmidt. "A theory of fairness, competition, and cooperation." The quarterly journal of economics 114.3 (1999): 817-868.

• Bernheim, B. Douglas, and Antonio Rangel. "Beyond revealed preference: choice-theoretic foundations for behavioral welfare economics." The Quarterly Journal of Economics 124.1 (2009): 51-104.

Association in the course directory

Last modified: Mo 07.09.2020 15:29