Behavioural Economics

Economic theory rests upon the assumptions that all economic actors (consumers, firms, governments) are fully rational and narrowly self-interested. Behavioural economics examines the consequences and realism of these assumptions by designing laboratory and field experiments and conducting empirical analyses that test economic theory and its core assumptions and by incorporating psychologically plausible assumptions and motivations into economic theory. This course provides a survey of some of the central and current topics in behavioural economics.