Postgraduate course 2022/2023

Behavioral Economics (Studied in English)

Type: Elective course

Area of studies: Economics

Delivered by: Department of Theoretical Economics

Where: Faculty of Economic Sciences

When: 2 year, 1 semester

Mode of studies: offline

Open to: students of one campus

Instructors: Anton Suvorov

Language: English

ECTS credits: 4

Contact hours: 40

Course Syllabus

Abstract

The neoclassical paradigm, dealing with rational economic agents who have stable preferences and always make optimal decisions, is a dominant approach in mainstream economics. ''Behavioral Economics'' (or ''Psychology and Economics'') is a new field, not an easy one to define. What unifies the different research programs associated with it is an attempt to bring psychological realism to economic analysis. Some papers document systematic departures of the actual human behavior from the one predicted by mainstream economic models. Others incorporate more realistic, psychologically grounded assumptions into economic models to investigate their implications. Yet others are interested in explaining seemingly irrational behavior using tools of economics and game theory with some minor departures from conventional assumptions. The course is somewhat eclectic. We shall both discuss theoretical models and look at many empirical (mostly, experimental) results. There is no textbook, all references will be to recent papers published in the leading international journals or yet unpublished.