Course 2014-2015 a.y.

20232 - BEHAVIOURAL MODELS AND NEUROEXPERIMENTAL EVIDENCE: APPLICATIONS IN ECONOMICS AND FINANCE


CLMG - M - IM - MM - AFC - CLAPI - CLEFIN-FINANCE - CLELI - ACME - DES-ESS - EMIT

Department of Decision Sciences

Course taught in English

Go to class group/s: 31
CLMG (6 credits - I sem. - OP  |  SECS-S/06) - M (6 credits - I sem. - OP  |  SECS-S/06) - IM (6 credits - I sem. - OP  |  SECS-S/06) - MM (6 credits - I sem. - OP  |  SECS-S/06) - AFC (6 credits - I sem. - OP  |  SECS-S/06) - CLAPI (6 credits - I sem. - OP  |  SECS-S/06) - CLEFIN-FINANCE (6 credits - I sem. - OP  |  SECS-S/06) - CLELI (6 credits - I sem. - OP  |  SECS-S/06) - ACME (6 credits - I sem. - OP  |  SECS-S/06) - DES-ESS (6 credits - I sem. - OP  |  SECS-S/06) - EMIT (6 credits - I sem. - OP  |  SECS-S/06)
Course Director:
JOSHUA BENJAMIN MILLER

Classes: 31 (I sem.)
Instructors:
Class 31: JOSHUA BENJAMIN MILLER



Course Objectives

The course illustrates how careful experimentation can illuminate behavioral patterns which can inform economic theory and practical applications.The course provides the student with an understanding of the behavioral implications of theoretical models and a familiarity with experimental evidence.This year’s version of the course places particular emphasis early on facilitating the acquisition of skills to design experiments, analyze experimental data, and interpret the results. Students replicate experiments from the literature, design and implement their own experiments, and present their work to the class. Students are required to meet the instructor in office hours on several occasions to get assistance and assure projects and planning are going forward. This course is intended for students from many degree programs. While we do not provide theorems, the ability to understand and apply formal mathematical definitions and results is expected.


Course Content Summary

This year’s course is structured around the textbook with some supplemental topics.

  • Introduction to the Experimental Method. Validity: Causality and Generalization. (Revisited throughout the semester).
  • Decisions under Certainty: Classical Choice Theory and the experimental evidence from Behavioral Economics. Evidence from Neuroeconomics. Policy implications and applications to consumer and investor decision making. Training in the basic use of the online professional survey software Qualtrics (free license).
  • Incentives and Motivation.
  • Judgment under Uncertainty: the Rational benchmark and the experimental evidence from Behavioral Economics.
  • Decisions under Uncertainty: Measuring Risk Aversion, Expected Utility, and the experimental evidence from Behavioral Economics. Evidence from Neuroeconomics. Experimental economics principles. Experimental and Statistical Methods for predicting decisions. Training in basic use of the statistical software STATA (free license).
  • Interactive Decision Making: Games, Auctions, Markets, Social Preferences.

Detailed Description of Assessment Methods

For non attending students

Non attending students must complete all the above assignments and exams. Attendance is strongly encouraged.

For attending students

There is a final exam, 50%; homework, 15%; experimental project and presentation, 20%; experiment replication and presentation, 10%; experiment participation, 5%.


Textbooks

  • E. ANGNER, A Course in Behavioural Economics, Palgrave Macmillan, 2012.
  • Assigned papers and supplementary notes.
Exam textbooks & Online Articles (check availability at the Library)

Prerequisites

Microeconomics.
Last change 25/03/2014 15:30