Recent works in economics and psychology have shown that individual and collective behavior does not only depend on economic incentives and constraints but also on psychological factors. Behavioral Economics identifies ways in which choices systematically deviate from what is predicted by standard economic theory. The development of this field has influenced how economists think about public policy. Behavioral aspects are now taken into account in a large variety of domains of the public intervention: education, tax system, health care etc. This course will present some key insights from Behavioral Economics and ways in which they have been used to improve policies. The objective is to help students think about the design of policies with behavioral considerations in mind.
Béatrice BOULU-RESHEF
Cours magistral seul
English
Students will read the course material (research papers, chapter of books) ahead of each lecture. Students will also have to work alone on some aspects of the models that will be presented in a quite formalized way.
Basis in Microeconomics and Econometric Analysis are required.
Spring 2021-2022
For each student, the course validation will include a final exam and the writing of an essay. The essay will be written in groups of 2-3 students. It will consist in proposing an innovative way to incorporate some behavioral considerations into the design of a policy.
- Group essay = 35%
- Individual final exam = 65%
The lecture will be organized around 5 broad topics. Two classes will be devoted to each topic. For each topic, we will start with a quick review of the standard theory and move to behavioral considerations. Then, we will present and discuss some applications of the behavioral findings to public policies
Sanji, D. (2016). The Foundations of Behavioral Economic Analysis. Oxford University Press. (Introduction)
Chetty, R. (2015). Behavioral Economics and Public Policy: A Pragmatic Perspective. American Economic Review Papers and Proceedings, 105(5): 1‐33.