Behavioral Economics

AY2015/2016 Semester 2

We will study quasi-rational behavior of less than perfect economic agents in their judgments and decision making by modifying the rationality assumption adopted in the standard economic model and incorporating important features of human psychology. Bounded rationality, bounded willpower and bounded self-interest, three important ways in which human behavior and choices diverge from rationality, will be discussed. We will also demonstrate how less than perfect economic agents survive market forces and exert a strong influence on market outcomes. Empirical and experimental evidence from environment, health, transportation, finance, saving behavior, labor market and other fields will be used to show how behavioral economics can be fruitfully applied to yield important insights into policy making, market operation and behavior patterns.