EC909-7-AT-CO:
Behavioural Economics I: Individual Decision Making
2024/25
Economics
Colchester Campus
Autumn Special
Postgraduate: Level 7
Current
Thursday 03 October 2024
Friday 13 December 2024
20
21 August 2024
Requisites for this module
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
This module is the first part of a two-term sequence that serves as an introduction to behavioural economics, a fast-growing field that incorporates insights from psychology into classical economic theory.
In this first module, we will focus on individual decision-making. While the primary emphasis is on theoretical concepts and models, we will also consider relevant experimental evidence (lab and field) where appropriate.
The aims of this module are:
- To equip students with a theoretical understanding of concepts and models relevant to Behavioural Economics.
- To familiarise them with relevant experimental evidence (lab and field), where appropriate.
By the end of this module, students will be expected to be able to:
- To have broad exposure to basic ideas from behavioural economics.
No additional information available.
This module will be delivered via:
- One 2-hour lecture per week.
- One 1-hour class per week.
Students will be expected to prepare weekly problem sets. Feedback for this module will occur through class meetings where we will go over the solutions to the problem sets, and through academic support hours where any additional questions can be addressed.
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Daniel Kahneman, Jack L. Knetsch and Richard H. Thaler (1991) 'Anomalies: The Endowment Effect, Loss Aversion, and Status Quo Bias Original text',
The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 5, pp. 193–206. Available at:
https://www.jstor.org/stable/1942711.
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Camerer, C.
et al. (1997) 'Labor Supply of New York City Cabdrivers: One Day at a Time',
The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 112(2), pp. 407–441. Available at:
https://doi.org/10.1162/003355397555244.
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Botond Koszegi and Matthew Rabin (2006) 'A Model of Reference-Dependent Preferences Original text',
The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 121(4). Available at:
https://www.jstor.org/stable/25098823?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents.
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Lacetera, Nicola (no date) 'Heuristic Thinking and Limited Attention in the Car Market',
American Economic Review, 102(5), pp. 2206–36. Available at:
https://doi.org/DOI: 10.1257/aer.102.5.2206.
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Yusufcan Masatlioglu, Daisuke Nakajima and Erkut Y. Ozbay (2012) 'Revealed Attention',
The American Economic Review, 102(5). Available at:
https://www.jstor.org/stable/41724618?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents.
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Angner, E. (2020a)
Course in Behavioral Economics. 3rd ed. 2021. Bloomsbury Publishing PLC. Available at:
https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/universityofessex-ebooks/detail.action?docID=6413884.
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Dhami, S.S. (2016b)
The foundations of behavioral economic analysis. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Available at:
https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=1406317.
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Eil, D. and Rao, J.M. (2011) 'The Good News-Bad News Effect: Asymmetric Processing of Objective Information about Yourself',
American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, 3(2), pp. 114–138. Available at:
https://doi.org/10.1257/mic.3.2.114.
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Kahneman, D. and Tversky, A. (1979) 'Prospect Theory: An Analysis of Decision under Risk',
Econometrica, 47(2). Available at:
https://doi.org/10.2307/1914185.
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Tversky, Amos?; Kahneman, Daniel (1992) 'Advances in Prospect Theory: Cumulative Representation of Uncertainty.',
Journal of Risk & Uncertainty, 5(4), pp. 297–323. Available at:
https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bsu&AN=16619060&site=ehost-live.
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Halevy, Y. (2007) 'Ellsberg Revisited: An Experimental Study',
Econometrica, 75(2), pp. 503–536. Available at:
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0262.2006.00755.x.
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Angner, E. (2020b)
Course in Behavioral Economics. 3rd ed. 2021. Bloomsbury Publishing PLC. Available at:
https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/universityofessex-ebooks/detail.action?docID=6413884.
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Faruk Gul and Wolfgang Pesendorfer (2001) 'Temptation and Self-Control',
Econometrica, 69(6), pp. 1403–1435. Available at:
https://www.jstor.org/stable/2692262?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents.
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Augenblick, N., Niederle, M. and Sprenger, C. (2015) 'Working over Time: Dynamic Inconsistency in Real Effort Tasks',
The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 130(3), pp. 1067–1115. Available at:
https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjv020.
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Charness, G., Gneezy, U. and Imas, A. (2013) 'Experimental methods: Eliciting risk preferences',
Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 87, pp. 43–51. Available at:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2012.12.023.
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Schotter, A. and Trevino, I. (2014) 'Belief Elicitation in the Laboratory',
Annual Review of Economics, 6(1), pp. 103–128. Available at:
https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-economics-080213-040927.
The above list is indicative of the essential reading for the course.
The library makes provision for all reading list items, with digital provision where possible, and these resources are shared between students.
Further reading can be obtained from this module's
reading list.
Assessment items, weightings and deadlines
Coursework / exam |
Description |
Deadline |
Coursework weighting |
Coursework |
In-person Test |
|
100% |
Exam |
Main exam: In-Person, Open Book, 120 minutes during January
|
Exam |
Reassessment Main exam: In-Person, Open Book, 120 minutes during Summer (Main Period)
|
Exam format definitions
- Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
- In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary,
for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.
Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.
Overall assessment
Reassessment
Module supervisor and teaching staff
Dr Ahrash Dianat, email: a.dianat@essex.ac.uk.
Lectures & Classes: Dr Ahrash Dianat
For further information, send an email message to pgteco@essex.ac.uk.
No
No
Yes
Dr Domenico Moro
university of Birmingham
Lecturer
Available via Moodle
Of 31 hours, 29 (93.5%) hours available to students:
0 hours not recorded due to service coverage or fault;
2 hours not recorded due to opt-out by lecturer(s), module, or event type.
Economics
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