Sociology of Financial Behavior

Bachelor 2024/2025

Type: Elective course (International Programme in Economics and Finance)

Area of studies: Economics

Delivered by: International College of Economics and Finance

Where: International College of Economics and Finance

When: 3 year, 1, 2 module

Mode of studies: offline

Open to: students of one campus

Language: English

ECTS credits: 4

Contact hours: 64

Full Syllabus

Abstract

The «Sociology of consumer finance» Bachelor Program is developed according to the standard educational requirements of the Federal State Autonomous Educational Institution of Higher Education «National Research University «Higher School of Economics» (HSE). Students are supposed to be familiar with Introduction to Probability Theory and Statistics and Economics.

Learning Objectives

The main goal of this unit is to develop a critical, reflexive, and interdisciplinary approach to key problems in contemporary research on financial behaviour of households.

Expected Learning Outcomes

to know conceptual and operational definitions of financial inclusion/exclusion and the results of cross-country variation in household access to financial services
to know conceptual and operational definitions of financial literacy and financial capability, as well as the results of international comparisons of financial literacy of individuals.
to know retirement-income systems across the world, research on pension wealth and household savings, and studies on retirement adequacy.
to know the causes and long-run macroeconomic implications of the rise in household indebtedness.
to know theoretical approaches and empirical research on the control and allocation of money within households, systems of money management in the families
to know theoretical models of households financial behaviour which are developed in economic sociology
to know theoretical models of households savings behaviour which are developed in behavioural economics
to know theoretical models of households savings behaviour which are developed in economic psychology
to know theoretical models of households savings behaviour which are developed in economic theory
to understand and interpret macro and micro statistics on household incomes and savings

Course Contents

The main concepts and definitions of financial behaviour of households. Conceptual and operational defenitions
Economic models of personal savings
Psychological approach to studying savings behaviour of household
Behavioral economics of personal finance
Social embeddednes of financial behaviour of individuals and households
Family budget management studies in sociology
Trust to financial institutions and savings, financial vulnerability of households
Trust to financial institutions and savings
Access to financial services, financial inclusion, saving motives
Financial literacy and financial capability of individuals
Household retirement strategies
The sociology of consumer credit
Research on investment behaviour of households. Financial frauds

Assessment Elements

presentation
class participation
Test
Test consists two parts: 1. Improve the questionnaire. Students are given the list of survey questions which have different mistakes in their wording. Students are supposed to indicate problems and improve questions to get higher construct validity of the measurement. 2. Theory quest. Students are supposed to demonstrate their knowledge of theoretical models of households’ financial behaviour which are developed in economic theory, economic psychology and economic sociology. There are no retakes of the test for those students who were not present irrespective for the reasons of the absence. ICEF 'students who are absent because of medical or other valid excuse during the test will be compensated by ICEF rules for grading.
Exam
Exam tests all knowledge and skills mastered during the course. The passing final grade for the course is announced after the final exam in December. The passing final grade could not be bigger than 40 marks or smaller than 25 marks depending on the overall results of students’ cohort. In case of unsatisfactory final grade in 100 - point scale for the course, a satisfactory grade in 10 - point scale is given if a student has received high grade for exam (60 marks or more). In order to get a passing grade for the course, the student must sit (all parts) of the examination.

Interim Assessment

2024/2025 2nd module
0.4 * Exam + 0.2 * Test + 0.15 * class participation + 0.25 * presentation

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

Deaton, A. (1991). Saving and Liquidity Constraints. Econometrica, (5), 1221. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsrep&AN=edsrep.a.ecm.emetrp.v59y1991i5p1221.48
Deaton, A. (1992). Understanding Consumption. Oxford University Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsrep&AN=edsrep.b.oxp.obooks.9780198288244
Denizer, C., Wolf, H. C., & Ying, Y. (2000). Household Savings in Transition Economies. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.45A1AEDC
Mental budgeting and the management of household finance. (2011). Journal of Economic Psychology, 32(4), 546–555. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsnar&AN=edsnar.oai.library.wur.nl.wurpubs.419402
Paul R. Gregory, Manouchehr Mokhtari, & Wolfram Schrettl. (1999). Do The Russians Really Save That Much? - Alternate Estimates From The Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey. The Review of Economics and Statistics, (4), 694. https://doi.org/10.1162/003465399558418
Shefrin, H. M., & Thaler, R. H. (1988). The Behavioral Life-Cycle Hypothesis. Economic Inquiry, (4), 609. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsrep&AN=edsrep.a.oup.ecinqu.v26y1988i4p609.43
Shorrocks, A. F. (1975). The Age-Wealth Relationship: A Cross-Section and Cohort Analysis. The Review of Economics and Statistics, (2), 155. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsrep&AN=edsrep.a.tpr.restat.v57y1975i2p155.63
Skoufias, E. (2004). Consumption smoothing during the economic transition in Bulgaria. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.6AA15472
Souleles, N. S. (2002). Consumer response to the Reagan tax cuts. Journal of Public Economics, (1), 99. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsrep&AN=edsrep.a.eee.pubeco.v85y2002i1p99.120

Recommended Additional Bibliography

Richard H. Thaler. (2018). From Cashews to Nudges: The Evolution of Behavioral Economics. American Economic Review, (6), 1265. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.108.6.1265
Зелизер, В. (2010). Human Values and the Market: The Case of Life Insurance and Death in 19th-Century America (translated by E. Berdysheva) ; Человеческие ценности и рынок: страхование жизни и смерть в Америке XIX века (перевод Е. С. Бердышевой). Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.8D1A9859

Authors

KUZINA OLGA EVGENEVNA

Course Syllabus