Behavioural and Experimental Economics

Uitgebreide vaknaam	Behavioural and Experimental Economics
Leerdoelen	Upon completion of the course the student is able to: 1. Recognize differences between rational-choice theory and behavioral economics. 2. Describe important experimental results related to the behavioral view of human decision-making. 3. Recognize situations where the studied concepts (e.g. framing, loss aversion, time inconsistency or social preferences) may guide human decision-making. 4. Qualitatively and quantitatively apply the studied concepts and models, such as the basic models of prospect theory, hyperbolic discounting, fairness and reciprocity. 5. Describe the different features of an experimental design and to provide a well-founded judgement on how appropriate they are to examine the given research question. 6.Formulate research questions that can be examined with an experimental design. 7. Design an economic experiment, present it and write it up as a research proposal. 8. Describe and/or critically evaluate experimental material covered in class. 9. Discuss key methodological issues related to experimentation and the strengths and weaknesses of experiments.
Omschrijving	As the name suggests, this course has two main themes: behavioural economics and experimental economics. They are interconnected, as behavioral economics (BE) is typically informed by insights from experimental research. Introduction to behavioral economics: Oftentimes, we are not the flawless, time-consistent maximizers of our own expected utility that neoclassical rational choice theory assumes us to be. Instead, we tend to make choices that are not in our long-run self-interest. For example, we delay unpleasant tasks and are tempted by short-term pleasures. Our choices are susceptible to the framing of decision-making problems because our cognitive abilities to solve them are limited. Also, we are willing to sacrifice our own interests to help others. The behavioral economics part of the course will teach you the basic theories that describe the above behaviors, including basic prospect theory, hyperbolic discounting and theories of fairness and altruism. Introduction to experimental economics: How do people really behave? Experimental economics (EE) examines this question empirically. We will discuss experimental research on various topics (e.g. market experiments, game theory experiments, labor market experiments). You will learn about the standards of experimental economics and the main types of experiments. We will make a direct connection to behavioral economics by discussing experimental evidence on the behavioral view of human decision-making. We will not only talk about experiments but also do some classroom experiments ourselves. There will also be a group assignment, where the task is to work out a proposal for an economic experiment. You will present this proposal in class, incorporate the feedback that you get, and write up the research proposal as a paper. Note that the schedule is irregular as the course is front-loaded with lectures. In the first three weeks there will be three lectures per week; in the next week two lectures, and in the last three weeks one lecture per week. The reason for this front-loading is that 25% of the grade is based on an assignment (the abovementioned research proposal for an experiment). To be able to write this assignment, students should learn about the experimental methodology and the types of experiments first - hence the many lectures in the first few weeks. For the exact times please consult the website rooster.rug.nl
Uren per week	4
Onderwijsvorm	-interactief hoorcollege
Toetsvorm	-groepsopdracht,  -schriftelijk tentamen (open en mc vragen)
Vaksoort	bachelor
Coördinator	Dr. A.N. Péter
Docent(en)	Dr. A.N. Péter , M.M. van Oldeniel, MSc.
Verplichte literatuur	Titel Auteur ISBN Prijs A course in behaviorial economics, 2nd edition Angner, Erik 9781137512925 ca. €  45,00 Lecture notes Péter, A.N., A.R. Soetevent Articles t.b.a.
Entreevoorwaarden	Please enroll only if you are familiar with the contents of the Microeconomics courses (EBP841B05 and EBB067A05), as well as the Mathematics and Statistics courses of year 1 and year 2 of the BSc E&BE (or equivalent courses for students from other programmes). Otherwise it would be difficult to follow this course.
Opmerkingen	Coordinator: Dr Noémi Péter, a.n.peter@rug.nl, room 5411.0752 Secretary: Helena Lei, h.lei@rug.nl, room 5411.0734.
Opgenomen in	Opleiding Jaar Periode Type BSc Bedrijfskunde/Bdk  (minor Algemene Economie voor de Lerarenopleiding) 3 semester I b verplicht BSc Econometrics and Operations Research/EOR  (minor E&BE) 3 semester I b verplicht BSc Econometrics and Operations Research/EOR  (keuzevakken BSc EOR) 3 semester I b keuze BSc Economics and Business Economics/E&BE  (minor E&BE) 3 semester I b verplicht Courses Exchange (BSc)  (Courses Exchange Students (BSc) without limited access) 3 semester I b keuze Pre-MSc-programma’s FEB  (Pre-MSc Algemene Economie voor de Lerarenopleiding (30 EC)) 1 semester I b verplicht