BEHAVIORAL ECONOMICS

Prerequisites & course information

Requisites: ( ECON 301 or 311 ) and ECON 310 ; or graduate/professional standing Course Designation: Core GenEd - Social & Behavioral Science Level - Advanced L&S Credit - L&S Liberal Arts and Science Grad 50% - Counts toward 50% graduate coursework requirement Repeatable for Credit: No Last Taught: Fall 2026 Learning Outcomes: 1. Describe several decision/search heuristics used by economic agents and explain their association with commonly observed cognitive biases Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 2. Use economic models to characterize and predict choices made by agents whose preferences diverge from the standard assumptions of rationality. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 3. Apply behavioral economic theories to evaluate real-world decision-making scenarios using case studies and empirical data. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 4. Critically assess the effectiveness of behavioral interventions in influencing decision-making. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 5. Design, describe and/or implement a behavioral intervention aimed at addressing a real-world economic inefficiency, integrating insights from the academic literature. Audience: Graduate Learning Outcomes: 1. Describe several decision/search heuristics used by economic agents and explain their association with commonly observed cognitive biases Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 2. Use economic models to characterize and predict choices made by agents whose preferences diverge from the standard assumptions of rationality. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 3. Apply behavioral economic theories to evaluate real-world decision-making scenarios using case studies and empirical data. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 4. Critically assess the effectiveness of behavioral interventions in influencing decision-making. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 5. Design, describe and/or implement a behavioral intervention aimed at addressing a real-world economic inefficiency, integrating insights from the academic literature. Audience: Graduate