BEHAVIORAL ECONOMICS: APPLICATIONS

Deniz Lefkeli

Instructional goals

The course introduces students to an applied perspective on behavioral economics and decision-making, with a particular focus on how behavioral insights inform and improve marketing strategies.

Prerequisites

Required: BA in Management or a related field. Recommended: Completion of Behavioral Economics: Foundations or equivalent coursework.

Intended learning outcomes

This course provides students with advanced knowledge and analytical tools in behavioral economics, enabling them to develop an applied understanding of decision-making processes, particularly in marketing and organizational contexts. By the end of the course, students will be able to: • Apply principles and insights from behavioral economics to marketing strategy and managerial decision-making. • Explore the impact of behavioral interventions on individual and organizational decision-making. • Examine how behavioral economics tools can shape, constrain, and enable decision-making processes. • Integrate and critically assess different theoretical approaches within behavioral economics. Furthermore, the course will equip students with the ability to acquire, interpret, and apply behavioral economics tools and concepts in order to communicate ideas, proposals, analyses, and critical reasoning effectively. Overall, the course empowers students by providing an applied perspective on theoretical models, bridging theory and practice.

Course Contents

Building on the Behavioral Economics: Foundations course, this course focuses on the application of behavioral economics concepts to real-world decision-making, with particular emphasis on marketing contexts.

Reference Books

Course materials consist primarily of selected academic articles and research papers, made available by the instructor throughout the course.

Teaching Methods

Lectures, discussions, case studies, and project work on relevant empirical issues. Students’ participation during lectures is required.

Assessment Method

In-class performance: 10% Group project: 20% Final exam: 70%

Thesis assignment criteria

No specific criteria

Week 1

Introduction to Behavioral Economics

Week 2

Introduction to Behavioral Economics Research

Week 3

Attention and Salience

Week 4

Default Effects

Week 5

Prospect Theory

Week 6

Time Preferences

Week 7

Social Preferences

Week 8

Behavioral Economics and Technology

Week 9

Behavioral Economics in the Marketplace

Week 10

Behavioral Economics in Finance

Week 11

Behavioral Economics in Health

Week 12

Key Topics in Behavioral Economics