Linköping University
Spring 2012
Behavioral Economics
730A15
Spring 2012
Camilla Josephson (camilla.josephson@liu.se) & Gustav Tinghög
(gustav.tinghog@liu.se)
Course information
Course Overview: This course studies the ways that economic and psychological factors
jointly influence behavior. We will analyze choices that economic actors make in the lab
and in the field and we will try to explain these choices with economic models. We will
enrich the standard economic model by incorporating psychological mechanisms,
including limited rationality, limited self-control and social preferences. This course is
intended for students from all diciplines interested in research.
By the end of the course students should
• have an overview of major papers in the literature and appreciate differences between
neoclassical and behavioral methods.
• be able to apply the basic frameworks to economic problems.
• recognize some of the key debates in thinking about how behavioral economics can
inform public policy.
Collapsed Course Outline
Date
Topic
Readings
Presenter
05-apr
17-apr
19-apr
24-apr
26-apr
8-may
10-may
10-may
Behavioral economics, an overview
Fairness and Social Preferences
Fairness and Social Preferences
Time Prefernces
Time Prefernces
Risk Preferences
Risk Preferences
Risk Preferences
Ch.1-2
Ch. 8
Articles
Ch. 5-6
Articles
Ch. 3
Articles
Articles
Camilla
Gustav
sem.
Gustav
Sem
Gustav
sem.
sem.
15-may
finance
Mental Accounting and Behavioral
Ch 4.
Camilla
Sem.
22-may
finance
Mental Accounting and Behavioral
Articles
Linköping University
Spring 2012
29 may
The future of Behavioral Economics
Ch 10., Articles
Camilla
31 may
The future of Behavioral Economics
Ch 10., Articles
Sem.
MONDAY 4 June Neuroeconomics
Articles
Camilla
7 June
Your papers
Discuss Experimental Papers
Examination: Take home exame. Seminar participation. Experiment synopsis hand in.
Articles:
19 apr
Fairness and Social Preferences
Henrich, J., R. Boyd, et al. (2001). "In search of Homo economicus: Behavioral
experiments in 15 small-scale societies." American Economic Review 91(2): 7378.
Mellström, C. and M. Johannesson (2008). "Crowding out in blood donation: was Titmuss
right?" Journal of the European Economic Association 6: 845-863.
26 apr
Time Preferences
Frederick, K. (2003). "Measuring intergenerational time preferences: Are future lives
valued less?" Journal of Risk and Uncertainty 26(1): 39-53.
O’Donoghue, T. and M. Rabin (1999). "Doing it now or doing it later." American
Economic Review 89(1): 103-124.
10 may
Risk Preferences
Kahneman, D. (2003). "Maps of bounded rationality: Psychology for behavioral
economics." American Economic Review 93(5): 1449-1475.
Kahneman, D., J. L. Knetsch, et al. (1990). "Experimental Tests of the Endowment Effect
and the Coase Theorem." Journal of Political Economy 98(6): 1325-1348.
List, J. A. (2004). "Neoclassical theory versus prospect theory: Evidence from the
marketplace." Econometrica 72(2): 615-625.
Linköping University
Spring 2012
15 may
Mental Accounting and Behavioral Finance
Wilkinson, An introduction to Behavioral Economics, pp. 149-185 .,
Richard L. Peterson, M.D. , (2005) The Neuroscience of Investing: FMRI of the reward
system. See link: http://www.richard.peterson.net/Neuroinvesting.htm.,
RICHARD H. THALER, (1999) Mental Accounting Matters Journal of Behavioral Decision
Making12: 183~206 (1999) see link:
http://faculty.chicagobooth.edu/richard.thaler/research/pdf/MentalAccounting.pdf
29 may
Self Control and The Future of Behavioral Economics
Wilkinson, An introduction to Behavioral Economics, Chapter 10 pp 438-464.,
Colin F. Camerer, George Loewenstein Behavioral Economics: Past, Present, Future, see
link for pdf: http://www.hss.caltech.edu/~camerer/ribe239.pdf
Discussion of “BEHAVIORAL ECONOMICS”
Camerer and RRabin (2005)“Behavioral Economics” (Collin Camerer) and “Incentives
and Self-control” (Matthew Rabin) Pdf see See:
http://arielrubinstein.tau.ac.il/papers/behavioral-economics.pdf
4 June
Neuroeconomics
Colin Camerer, George Loewenstein, Drazen Prelec (2003),
Neuroeconomics: How neuroscience can inform economics (google the title for Pdf file)
David K. Levine, Neuroeconomics?, March 3, 2011., see link: for Pdf.
http://www.dklevine.com/papers/neuroeconomics.pdf