040832 KU Behavioral and Experimental Economics (MA) (2026S)
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 09.02.2026 09:00 to Tu 17.02.2026 12:00
- Registration is open from Tu 24.02.2026 09:00 to We 25.02.2026 12:00
- Deregistration possible until Sa 14.03.2026 23:59
Details
max. 50 participants
Language: English
Lecturers
Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N
Attendance of the two lectures on the first lecture day is compulsory. Non-attendance of the first lecture day means that you will be automatically de-registered from the course without further notice. This applies also to students on the waiting list hoping to still get a slot in the course. (Having to work, not being in Vienna, etc. are no valid excuses.) NO EXCEPTIONS!
- Wednesday 04.03. 09:45 - 13:00 Hörsaal 3 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 Erdgeschoß
- Wednesday 11.03. 09:45 - 13:00 Hörsaal 3 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 Erdgeschoß
- N Wednesday 18.03. 09:45 - 13:00 Hörsaal 3 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 Erdgeschoß
- Wednesday 25.03. 09:45 - 13:00 Hörsaal 3 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 Erdgeschoß
- Wednesday 15.04. 09:45 - 13:00 Hörsaal 3 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 Erdgeschoß
- Wednesday 22.04. 09:45 - 13:00 Hörsaal 3 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 Erdgeschoß
- Wednesday 29.04. 09:45 - 13:00 Hörsaal 3 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 Erdgeschoß
- Wednesday 06.05. 09:45 - 13:00 Hörsaal 3 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 Erdgeschoß
- Wednesday 13.05. 09:45 - 13:00 Hörsaal 3 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 Erdgeschoß
- Wednesday 20.05. 09:45 - 13:00 Hörsaal 3 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 Erdgeschoß
- Wednesday 27.05. 09:45 - 13:00 Hörsaal 3 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 Erdgeschoß
- Wednesday 03.06. 09:45 - 13:00 Hörsaal 3 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 Erdgeschoß
- Wednesday 10.06. 09:45 - 13:00 Hörsaal 3 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 Erdgeschoß
- Wednesday 17.06. 09:45 - 13:00 Hörsaal 3 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 Erdgeschoß
- Wednesday 24.06. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal 6 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
Information
Aims, contents and method of the course
Assessment and permitted materials
To complete the course, the following activities are mandatory:
1. Written Policy Proposal + Oral Presentation (work in a group): 20%
2. Homework Exercises (work in a group): 30%
3. Final Exam (work alone): 50%
For each of these three activities there will be a separate grade. There is a minimum grade requirement for the Final Exam. You need to get at least grade 4 (four) for the Final Exam. Conditional on receiving grade 4 (four) in the Final Exam, from these three separate grades the final grade will be computed using the weights indicated above, followed by rounding.
1. Written Policy Proposal + Oral Presentation (work in a group): 20%
2. Homework Exercises (work in a group): 30%
3. Final Exam (work alone): 50%
For each of these three activities there will be a separate grade. There is a minimum grade requirement for the Final Exam. You need to get at least grade 4 (four) for the Final Exam. Conditional on receiving grade 4 (four) in the Final Exam, from these three separate grades the final grade will be computed using the weights indicated above, followed by rounding.
Minimum requirements and assessment criteria
Attendance of the first lecture day is compulsory. Non-attendance of the first lecture day means that you will be automatically de-registered from the course without further notice. NO EXCEPTIONS!To complete the course, the following activities are mandatory:
1. Written Policy Proposal + Oral Presentation (work in a group): 20%
2. Homework Exercises (work in a group): 30%
3. Final Exam (work alone): 50%
For each of these three activities there will be a separate grade. There is a minimum grade requirement for the Final Exam. You need to get at least grade 4 (four) for the Final Exam. Conditional on receiving grade 4 (four) in the Final Exam, from these three separate grades the final grade will be computed using the weights indicated above, followed by rounding.
1. Written Policy Proposal + Oral Presentation (work in a group): 20%
2. Homework Exercises (work in a group): 30%
3. Final Exam (work alone): 50%
For each of these three activities there will be a separate grade. There is a minimum grade requirement for the Final Exam. You need to get at least grade 4 (four) for the Final Exam. Conditional on receiving grade 4 (four) in the Final Exam, from these three separate grades the final grade will be computed using the weights indicated above, followed by rounding.
Examination topics
Will be announced in the lectures.
Reading list
* Recommended: Edward Cartwright: Behavioral Economics, Third Edition, Routlegde.* Alternative 1: Brandon Lehr: Behavioral Economics: Evidence, Theory, and Welfare, Routlegde.* Alternative 2: Sanjit Dhami: Foundations of Behavioral Economic Analysis, Oxford University Press.
Association in the course directory
E.1.6.
Last modified: Fr 27.02.2026 12:46
Human decisions and judgements are often based on intuitions and feelings, and not exclusively on purely rational considerations. This has important implications for how we deal with risk and uncertainty, how we plan and prepare for the future, and how we form expectations about the future. In the first part of this course, it will be illustrated how insights from psychology can improve our understanding of important economic decisions such as consumption, saving, and insurance from a theoretical point of view.
Economics is also about interaction between people. Individuals interact in markets, as buyers and sellers, but also in organizations, on the internet, in politics, on the street, and at home. Standard economics models this interaction as a game between rational players who pursue their self-interest and arrive at an equilibrium. The second part of this course presents evidence that actual behavior often deviates from the standard model. Individuals make mistakes, they learn from others, they follow social norms about fairness and reciprocity, they care for the well-being of others (but can also envy others), they are concerned about their image, and they are driven by emotions. The second part of the course shows how standard game theory can be adjusted to better capture actual behavior, and discusses applications in areas such as price competition, wage bargaining, charitable giving, cooperation in teams, incentives and control, sustainable behavior, and support for redistribution.Aims:
In this course, you will:
* Learn about the strengths and the weaknesses of the "rational choice" model.
* Learn how deviations form rationality are often rooted in psychology.
* Learn basic behavioral models regarding decision making under risk, time and uncertainty.* Learn how people behave in social and strategic decision situations.
* Learn when and how people deviate from the predictions of the standard game-theoretical model, and how these deviations are rooted in psychology.
* Learn to work with alternative behavioral models, how to apply these models in various fields, and how to use them for better advice.
* Learn how behavioral economics can help solve societal problems.Methods:
Interactive lectures, student presentations and tutorials