Economic Behavior and Psychology

Catalog description

This course is an introduction to Behavioral Economics, a growing field which incorporates insights from other disciplines--primarily psychology-- into microeconomic models. We will cover fundamental aspects of decision-making, such as how people respond to risk, how people make trade-offs between short-term and long-term rewards, and the ways in which people aren't as selfish as standard economic models suggest. We will cover novel economic models that can accommodate phenomena such as altruism, loss aversion, and self-control problems. We will discuss empirical applications of these concepts in areas ranging from personal finance and health to marketing and public policy. Prereq: ECON 102 .