AØKA08218U Science of Behavior Change

Volume 2021/2022
Education

MSc programme in Economics – elective course

 

Bacheloruddannelsen i økonomi – valgfag på 3. år

The Danish BSc programme in Economics - elective at the 3rd year

Content

Over the last 30 years, behavioral scientists have gained a deeper understanding of what motivates people, how they process information, and what non-economic features of the choice environment influence decisions. Many of their insights challenge traditional assumptions such as rationality, self-interest, time consistency. This research program (sometimes called “Behavioral Economics” or “Psychology and Economics”) has shed light on how people’s decisions deviate from “optimal” choices and the consequences of such deviations. But how can we use this knowledge in practice? How can we get people to save more money, have a better education, work harder, save energy, engage in healthy behaviors, and, more generally, make better decisions?

 

This course allows the student to develop hands-on approach by learning and applying the methods of behavioral economics to public policy. We will review research on human decision making from psychology, political science, organizational behavior and economics and we will look for easy‐to‐implement solutions. At the end of this course, students will be able to identify human biases and creatively design behavioral interventions, policies or products that help people make better decisions.

Learning Outcome

After completing the course the student is expected to be able to:

 

Knowledge:

  • Review the most recent developments and theories of human decision-making both from Economics and Psychology.
  • Reflect on how experiments work and why this methodology is critical for making inference about causal relationships.

 

Skills:

  • Analyze the tools of behavioral science and compare their effectiveness to change specific behaviors.
  • Debate and discuss critically several interventions that have been conducted to change people’s behavior in the domain of energy efficiency, health and well-being, dishonesty, education, work performance, charitable giving, saving, voting, development and discrimination.

 

Competencies:

  • Examine (real-world) cases where people make decisions that are inconsistent with the assumptions of rational decision making and identify the consequences of this irrational behavior for the society.
  • Design experiments and develop policy intervention aiming at ameliorate societal well-being and improve people’s life.

Students have to read critically several papers.

 

A preliminary reading list includes:

  • Johnson, E. J., & Goldstein, D. G. (2003). Do defaults save lives? Science, 302, 1338-1339.
  • Milkman, K. L., Beshears, J., Choi, J. J., Laibson, D., & Madrian, B. C. (2011). Using implementation intentions prompts to enhance influenza vaccination rates. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 108(26), 10415-10420.
  • Blanco, F. (2017). Cognitive Bias. In J. Vonk, and T.K. Shackelford (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior. New York: Springer.
  • Rabin, M. (2002). A perspective on psychology and economics. European Economic Review, 46(4-5), 657-685.
  • Kling, J. R., Congdon, W. J., & Mullainathan, S. (2011). Policy and choice: public finance through the lens of behavioral economics. Brookings Institution Press. Only Chapter 2 (“ Psychology and Economics”, pp. 17-39).
  • Chabris, C. F., Laibson, D. I., & Schuldt, J. P. (2006). Intertemporal choice. The new Palgrave dictionary of economics, 2.
  • Duckworth, A. L., Milkman, K. L., & Laibson, D. (2018). Beyond willpower: Strategies for reducing failures of self-control. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 19(3), 102-129.
  • Madrian, B. C. (2014). Applying Insights from Behavioral Economics to Policy Design. Annual Review of Economics, 6(1), 663-688.
  • Gneezy, U., Meier, S., & Rey-Biel, P. (2011). When and why incentives (don't) work to modify behavior. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 25(4), 191-210.
  • Samson, A. and Gneezy U. (2019) The Behavioral Economics Guide 2019. Only “Incentives and Behavior Change”, pp. VII-XI.
  • Richburg-Hayes, et al. (2014). Behavioral Economics and Social Policy: Designing Innovative Solutions for Programs Supported by the Administration for Children and Families. OPRE Report No. 2014-16a.
  • Ly, K., Mažar, N., Zhao, M., & Soman, D. (2013). A practitioner’s guide to nudging. Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto.
  • Imai K. (2005). Get out the Vote Do Phone Calls to Encourage Voting Work? Why Randomize?
  • Schultz, P. W., Nolan, J. M., Cialdini, R. B., Goldstein, N. J., & Griskevicius, V. (2007). The constructive, destructive, and reconstructive power of social norms. Psychological Science, 18(5), 429-434.
  • Goldstein, N. J., Cialdini, R. B., & Griskevicius, V. (2008). A room with a viewpoint: Using social norms to motivate environmental conservation in hotels. Journal of consumer Research, 35(3), 472-482.
  • Allcott, H. (2011). Social norms and energy conservation. Journal of Public Economics, 95(9), 1082-1095.
  • Allcott, H., & Rogers, T. (2014). The Short-Run and Long-Run Effects of Behavioral Interventions: Experimental Evidence from Energy Conservation. American Economic Review, 104(10), 3003-3037.
  • Costa, D. L., & Kahn, M. E. (2013). Energy conservation “nudges” and environmentalist ideology: Evidence from a randomized residential electricity field experiment. Journal of the European Economic Association, 11(3), 680-702.
  •  
The course requires that students read several scientific papers and have some knowledge of microeconomics and econometrics.

It is recommended that students have followed or are following a similar course as "Microeconomics III" from the Study of Economics, University of Copenhagen.
The course is divided in two parts:
- Part 1 “Principles and Methods”: I will introduce the topic and present the relevant literature for the course
- Part 2 “Applications”: We will discuss and analyze a different topic in each lecture. In Part 2, for each lecture, we will have a group of students (5-10 students) in charge to read the papers assigned and prepare a presentation. Moreover, these students are in charge to actively engage other students in the learning/discussion process.

Important:
- Students do most of their learning through the readings and assignments, both on their own and in cooperation with their classmates. The lecturer guides the learning by choosing readings and exercises for the students, and coaches them through this learning process in a way that maximizes understanding.
- Student participation will be expected and encouraged. An active discussion in class is essential for an effective peer learning.
- Students have to read the assigned papers before each lecture to be able to discuss it in class. Moreover, students will have homework and group work to do in preparation of the lectures.


Restrictions due to Coronavirus:
The teaching in this course may be changed to be taught either fully or partly online due to COVID-19. For further information, please see the course room on Absalon (for enrolled students).
Schedule:
3 hours lectures ones a week from week 36 to 50 (except week 42).

Schema:
The overall schema for the BA 3rd year and Master can be seen at KUnet:
MSc in Economics => "Courses and teaching" => "Planning and overview" => "Your timetable"
BA i Økonomi/KA i Økonomi => "Kurser og undervisning" => "Planlægning og overblik" => "Dit skema"

Timetable and venue:
To see the time and location of lectures please press the link/links under "Timetable"/​"Se skema" at the right side of this page. E means Autumn.

You can find the similar information partly in English at
https:/​/​skema.ku.dk/​ku2122/​uk/​module.htm
-Select Department: “2200-Økonomisk Institut” (and wait for respond)
-Select Module:: “2200-E21; [Name of course]””
-Select Report Type: “List – Weekdays”
-Select Period: “Efterår/Autumn”
Press: “ View Timetable”

Please be aware:
- It is the students´s own responsibility to continuously update themselves about their studies, their teaching, their schedule, their exams etc. through the curriculum of the study programmes, the study pages at KUnet, student messages, the course descriptions, the Digital Exam portal, Absalon, the personal schema at KUnet and myUCPH app etc.
  • Category
  • Hours
  • Lectures
  • 42
  • Preparation
  • 162
  • Exam
  • 2
  • Total
  • 206
Oral
Individual
Collective
Peer feedback (Students give each other feedback)

 

Students will receive feedback from the lecturer and from the peers continuously during the course.

The teaching assistant gives the students individual feedback at their mandatory assignments upon request.

Credit
7,5 ECTS
Type of assessment
Written examination, 2 hours under invigilation
as an ITX-exam in the exam venues of the university.

The exam assignment is in English and must be answered in English.

Changes due to Coronavirus:
In the event that COVID-19 restrictions may affect the conduction of the ITX-exams, the written exam and the re-sit exam will be changed to a take-home exam with all aids. If done so, the changes will be announced in study messages at KUnet, in the Digital Exam portal and here in the Exam section of the course description.

The take-home exams will still be individual and it is not allowed to communicate with any one about the exam assignment nor the solution at all. It is also prohibited to distribute data and other information at all. If this or alike actions happens, it will be regarded as cheating and plagiarism.
__
Exam registration requirements

To qualify for the exam the student must fulfill both the requirements:

Requirement 1 (participation in group activities):

• During the course, each student is assigned to a specific group. In the group, the student has to work on all the activities given by the teacher. 

 

Requirement 2 (individual homework):

• During each lecture in class, the student has to answer and submit one (or more) assignment questions covering the reading material. The student must have 75% of the mandatory assignments approved to be able to sit the exam.

__

Aid

No aids allowed at the written ITX-exams.

 

If the ITX-exams are changed to take-home exams due to COVID-19, the written take-home exams will be with all aids.

 

For further information about allowed aids for the re-examination. Please go to the section "Re-exam".

__

Marking scale
7-point grading scale
Censorship form
No external censorship
for the written exams. The written ITX-exam may be chosen for external assessment by random sample.
____
Exam period

The regular exam takes place:

22 December 2021

 

Exam information:

The exact time and place will be available in Digital Exam from the middle of the semester.

 

In special cases decided by the Department, the exam can change to another place, type, day and/or time than announced. 

 

More information about examination, rules, aids etc. is available at Master(UK), Master(DK) and Bachelor(DK).

__

Re-exam

The written reexam takes place:

15 February 2022

 

Reexam info:

Exact day and time is available in Digital Exam in February.

In special cases decided by the Department, the re-exam can change to another place, type, day and/or time than announced.

 

More information is available at Master(UK),  Master(DK) and Bachelor(DK).

Criteria for exam assesment

Students are assessed on the extent to which they master the learning outcome for the course.

 

In order to obtain the top grade "12", the student must with no or only a few minor weaknesses be able to demonstrate an excellent performance displaying a high level of command of all aspects of the relevant material and can make use of the knowledge, skills and competencies listed in the learning outcomes.

 

In order to obtain the passing grade “02”, the student must in a satisfactory way be able to demonstrate a minimal acceptable level of  the knowledge, skills and competencies listed in the learning outcomes.