Schedule

Below is a roadmap for the semester. Note that this will inevitably change from the first day you access this course but will be updated as required.

Overview

The class is fundamentally based on lectures. The slides for the lectures can be found at the “content” page. Everything else should be relatively self-explanatory.

Content (): This page contains the lectures and recorded videos (as applicable) for the topic. These pages should be read completely. Lectures are not an exact replication of the written content; on the contrary, the lectures are intended to keep you engaged and have a great deal more information than the slides alone. Come to class.
Assignments (): This page contains the instructions for assignments. Assignments are always due nefore the start of class.

	Introduction to Behavioral Economics	Content	Assignment
	Welcome
	Choice under Uncertainty	Content	Assignment
	The Standard Model: Expected Utility
	Evidence that Contradicts Expected Utility
	Prospect Theory
	Applications of Propect Theory
	Reference-Dependent Preferences
08 February	EXAM 1
	Intertemporal Choice — Making Choices over Time	Content	Assignment
	Warm-Up: Interest Rates, Compounding, PDV,…
	The Standard Model: Exponential Discounting
	Evidence that Contradicts Exponential Discounting
	An Alternative Model: Present Bias
	Applications of Present Bias
	Utility from “Anticipation”
	“Projection Bias” — Mispredicting Future Tastes
26 March	EXAM 2
	Public Policy to Combat Errors	Content	Assignment
	Is “Paternalism” Acceptable or Justified?
	Optimal Sin Taxes
	Errors in Statistical Reasoning	Content	Assignment
	The Standard Model: Bayesian Information Processing
	Evidence that Contradicts Bayesian Information Processing
	An Alternative Model: The “Law Of Small Numbers”
	Poverty and Mental Health	Content	Assignment
	The Psychological Costs of Poverty
Thursday, April 25th at 3:00 PM	Final Exam