MALKA220 Behavioral Economics Course description

This course provides an overview of behavioral economics for students and professionals interested in behavioral science. Whereas the focus is on a behavior analytic framework of choice behavior and decision-making, the course is highly interdisciplinary, as it includes concepts and cases drawn from economic, psychological, and social sciences.

Admission to the study program

On successful completion of the course, the student has the following learning outcomes classified as knowledge, skills and competence:

Knowledge

The student can

• describe and discuss the main distinctions between neoclassical economics, behavioral economics and behavior analysis, and define behavioral economics and describe the origins
• define the concepts of Homo economicus and bounded rationality
• define the core concepts of discounting
• define "beliefs, biases and heuristics" and describe typical heuristics
• define core principles in game theory

Skills

The student can

• discuss discounting in relation to the standard economic model and behavioral economics
• describe and discuss the concepts of rule-governed and contingency shaped behavior in the light of discounting
• discuss how nudging can affect choice, and analyze nudging in behavioral analytic terms
• discuss the concept of selection at the behavioral and cultural level in relation to micro- and macroeconomics
• discuss ethical concerns when influencing choice in the field of behavioral economics

Competence

The student can

• present core principles of behavioral economics to others in a way that meets the requirements of professional scientific communication
• present core principles of behavioral economics to the Public
• discuss how behavior analysis can contribute to the field of behavioral economics
• present evidence based research from behavioral economics, and discuss different methods and Applications
• discuss how the field of behavioral economics can contribute to further understanding of choice behavior

In the BSCA specialisation, campus-based lectures, exercises, oral presentations, discussions and individual papers are the main teaching methods. Students read selected texts in advance for each day of class, and everyone is expected to participate in class through questions and through joining in discussion. In the BSII specialisation, the main teaching method is digital course sequences, and feedback on details of course content, and supervised discussion groups will be available during pre-determined time periods. Feedback on written assignments is used in both specialisations.

The following required coursework must be approved before the student can take the exam:

• Complete an online sequence consisting of 5 modules containing videos, texts, quizzes and/or short essay questions (up to 710 characters including spaces), within a given deadline.

Portfolio exam that includes:

• Two individual written assignments submitted digitally, each with a maximum length of 9000 characters, including spaces. References are to be included in the 9000 characters.

Students may submit their exams in Norwegian, Swedish, Danish or English.

The students receive feedback once during the course on 1 of the written assignments before the portfolio is closed. The 2nd and last submission is without feedback during the course. All the components must be awarded a pass grade before the exam as a whole can be passed.

Weighting: One overall grade is awarded for the portfolio. Each assignment is weighted 50%.

In the case of a new exam: If the student fails one assignment, the one assignment is taken again. The final grade can be appealed

All

Grade scale A-F

All answers are assessed by one examiner.

An external examiner is used regularly, at a minimum of every third completion of the course. When selecting answers for external evaluation, a minimum of 10 percent of the answers shall be included, with no fewer than 5 answers. The external examiner’s assessment of the selected answers shall benefit all students.