Psychology and Economics

Psychology and Economics (aka Behavioral Economics) is a growing subfield of economics that incorporates insights from psychology and other social sciences into economics. This course covers recent advances in behavioral economics by reviewing some of the assumptions made in mainstream economic models, and by discussing how human behavior systematically departs from these assumptions. Applications will cover a wide range of fields, including labor and public economics, industrial organization, health economics, finance, and development economics.

• Mid-Term Review
• Lecture 1: Introduction and Overview I
• Lecture 2: Introduction and Overview II
• Lecture 3: Time Preferences (Theory) I
• Lecture 4: Time Preferences (Theory) II
• Lecture 5: Time Preferences (Applications) I
• Lecture 6: Time Preferences (Applications) II
• Lecture 7: Risk Preferences I
• Lecture 8: Risk Preferences II
• Lecture 9: Reference-Dependent Preferences
• Lecture 10: Social Preferences I
• Lecture 11: Social Preferences II
• Lecture 12: Social Preferences III
• Lecture 13: Social Preferences IV
• Lecture 14: Limited Attention
• Lecture 15: Utility from Beliefs; Learning I
• Lecture 16: Utility from Beliefs; Learning II
• Lecture 17: State-Dependent Preferences, Projection, and Attribution Bias
• Lecture 18: Gender, Discrimination, and Identity
• Lecture 19: Defaults, Nudges, and Frames
• Lecture 20: Malleability and Inaccessibility of Preferences
• Lecture 21: Poverty through the Lens of Psychology
• Lecture 22: Happiness and Mental Health
• Lecture 23: Policy with Behaviorial Agents