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Behavioral Economics for Public and Social Policy: syllabus
Brief Characteristics of the Course: “Do we make decisions rationally or irrationally? And how do we know? How can we use irrationality in social and public policy?” The elective course “Behavioral Economics for Public and Social Policy” provides answers to these fundamental questions. The aim is to acquaint students with the key principles and concepts of behavioral economics and its theory of nudge, to deepen their knowledge of subjects based on neoclassical economics and illustrate how behavioral economics can help to achieve more effective outcomes. The course will present current knowledge of behavioral economics and social psychology, with regard to their practical applicability in public policies (health policy, pension policy, environmental policy, savings making, education policy, welfare and happiness economics, etc.) with the subsequent formulation of implications for their implementation in the spirit of so-called "nudges". The graduate of the course can:
Graduates will use the acquired skills when working in both the public and private or non-profit sector. For a full understanding of the subject matter, continuous home preparation for each lecture is recommended (reading selected chapters of elementary literature). Course Structure and Contents: The course consists of three main parts - lectures, home reading of recommended literature and discussion / presentations and is not factually focused on a specific public policy or sector. Elementary Literature: KAHNEMAN, D. (2011). Thinking, Fast and Slow. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. [česky: KAHNEMAN, D. 2012. Myšlení rychlé a pomalé, Jan Melvil Publishing, ISBN 978-80-87270-42-4] THALER, R.H., SUNSTEIN, C.R. (2008). Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness. New Haven: Yale University Press. [česky: Nudge (Šťouch) Jak postrčit lidi k lepšímu rozhodování o zdraví, majetku a štěstí. Albatros Media a.s., 2010] Recommended Literature: ARIELY, D. (2008). Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions. New York, NY: Harper. [česky: ARIELY, D. 2009. Jak drahé je zdarma : proč chytří lidé přijímají špatná rozhodnutí : iracionální faktory v ekonomice i v životě. Vyd. 1. Praha: Práh, 2009. ISBN 978-80-7252-239-2] Behavioral Insights Team (2014). EAST: Four simple ways to apply behavioral insights. https://38r8om2xjhhl25mw24492dir-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/BIT-Publication-EAST_FA_WEB.pdf. CAMERER C. (2000): Prospect theory in the wild: Evidence from the field, In: Choices, Values, and Frames. Contemporary Psychology. No.47. American Psychological Association, Washington, DC, pp. 288-300. ISBN 9780521621724. DHAMI, Sanjit S. (2019). The foundations of behavioral economic analysis. Volume 1, Behavioral economics of risk, uncertainty, and ambiguity. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780198835608. DOLAN, P. et al. (2010). Mindspace: Influencing Behaviour through Public Policies. London: Cabinet Office and the Institute for Government. KAHNEMAN, D., KNETSCH, J.L., THALER, R.H. (1991). Anomalies: The Endowment Effect, Loss Aversion, and Status Quo Bias, The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 5(1), pp. 193-206, Winter. KAHNEMAN, D., KNETSCH, L.J. and THALER, R. (1990). "Experimental Tests of the Endowment Effect and the Coase Theorem." Journal of Political Economy 98 (6): 1325-1348. KRPAN D, GALIZZIM M and DOLAN P. (2019). Looking at Spillovers in the Mirror: Making a Case for “Behavioral Spillunders” Front Psychol 10:1142doi: 103389/fpsyg201901142 SAMSON, A. (2016). The Behavioral Economics Guide. Behavioral economics. SCHMIDT, AT, ENGELEN, B. (2020). The ethics of nudging: An overview. Philosophy Compass. 2020; 15: e12658. https://doi.org/10.1111/phc3.12658 SUNSTEIN, Cass R. and THALER, R. (2003), Libertarian Paternalism Is Not an Oxymoron, The University of Chicago Law Review, Vol 70, No.4. SUNSTEIN,Cass R. (2020). Behavioral Science and Public Policy. Cambridge University Press, number 9781108972789. THALER, R. H. (2015). Misbehaving: The Making of Behavioral Economics. W W Norton & Co. [česky: THALER, R. H. (2017) Neočekávané chování: příběh behaviorální ekonomie. Argo] WILKINSON, N. - KLEAS, M. (2012). An Introduction to Behavioral Economics. Palgrave. Study Control: Prerequisites for completing the course are (1) preparation for lectures and active participation in teaching activities. Students must have read articles and processed assignments intended for discussion. Part of the duties is (2) elaboration and submission of a seminar paper on the topic of the selected presentation in the range of 15 standard pages of continuous text (upload to the Moodle course page), (3) presentation of a seminar paper and (4) elaboration of 2 critical reflections in the range of 3.000 to 5.000 characters each, spaces included, references excluded (1) Preparation for Lectures A list of compulsory and recommended home study literature is prepared for each lecture. The selection of literature seeks to cover key aspects of the topic. The texts will be discussed; therefore, it is absolutely necessary to read them in advance and prepare any questions and suggestions for discussion. It is not necessary to read all the case studies, they mainly serve as illustrations of the discussed topic and inspiration for the processed presentations, two critical reflections and seminar paper. (2) + (3) Seminar Paper and its Continuous Presentations 1. Specification of the public and social policy issue (description of the selected problem, its topicality and the tree of causal relations in the range of 3-4 pages), 2. Strategy, Goals, Methodology, Theoretical-conceptual framework (proposal of a suitable behavioral policy design with 5-10 solution variants in the range of 3-4 pages) 3. Effectiveness evaluation (description of how the results obtained will be evaluated in terms of effectiveness, i.e cost-benefit analysis, technical feasibility, political viability, acceptance among course participants, in the range of 3-4 pages) 4. Finalization (proposal of a clear and convincing solution for the selected problem, a discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of the selected design and the reasons for its choice. (3-4 pages) The seminar paper must be submitted in electronic form to the address radek.kovacs@fsv.cuni.cz. The subject of the email must contain the course code in square brackets, i.e [JSM732], otherwise it will not be entered correctly. The final version will be analyzed by plagiarism detection software. (4) Elaboration of 2 Critical Reflections Critical reflection I: Using an example of a public policy problem of your choice, propose solutions based on the concept of nudges Critical reflection II: Give a case where nudging has undesirable (ethical, practical) consequences The evaluation of students´ critical reflections:
Deadlines: Submission of critical reflection I: 17 November 2024 Submission of critical reflection II: 1 December 2024 Submission of seminar paper: 31 December 2024 Failure to meet the deadline by less than 3 days means a 20% reduction in the number of points, a longer delay is evaluated as non-submission (0 points). A total of three deadlines are available for submitting the final version of the project. The first two can be used to obtain feedback, the third deadline is possible to submit the final version of the paper and meet the conditions for completing the course. Course Schedule: Block I - Topic 1: Delimitation of behavioral economics versus neoclassical economics.
Literature: KAHNEMAN, D. (2011). Thinking, Fast and Slow. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, pages 7- 51 [česky: KAHNEMAN, D. 2012. Myšlení rychlé a pomalé, Jan Melvil Publishing, ISBN 978-80-87270-42-4, str. 9-57] Topic 2: Behavioral public choice.
Literature: KAHNEMAN, D. (2011). Thinking, Fast and Slow. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. pages 52- 70 [česky: KAHNEMAN, D. 2012. Myšlení rychlé a pomalé, Jan Melvil Publishing, ISBN 978-80-87270-42-4, str. 58-80] Block II - Topic 3: The concept of bounded rationality
Literature: KAHNEMAN, D. (2011). Thinking, Fast and Slow. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, pages 71- 117, 136-269 [česky: KAHNEMAN, D. 2012. Myšlení rychlé a pomalé, Jan Melvil Publishing, ISBN 978-80-87270-42-4, str. 81-129, 149-298] Topic 4: Prospect theory and its application in public and social policy.
Literature: KAHNEMAN, D. (2011). Thinking, Fast and Slow. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, pages 270-333 [česky: KAHNEMAN, D. 2012. Myšlení rychlé a pomalé, Jan Melvil Publishing, ISBN 978-80-87270-42-4, str. 299-365] Block III - Topic 5
Literature: KAHNEMAN, D. (2011). Thinking, Fast and Slow. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, pages 118-135, 334-344 . [česky: KAHNEMAN, D. 2012. Myšlení rychlé a pomalé, Jan Melvil Publishing, ISBN 978-80-87270-42-4, str. 130-148, 289-298, 366-400] Topic 6: Choice architecture
Literature: THALER, R.H., SUNSTEIN, C.R. 2008. Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness. New Haven: Yale University Press. [česky (2010): Nudge (Šťouch) Jak postrčit lidi k lepšímu rozhodování o zdraví, majetku a štěstí. (Část 1) Block IV - Topic 7: Nudges and their applications in public policy I
Literature: THALER, R.H., SUNSTEIN, C.R. 2008. Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness. New Haven: Yale University Press, pages 1-198. [česky (2010): Nudge (Šťouch) Jak postrčit lidi k lepšímu rozhodování o zdraví, majetku a štěstí. (Část 2) Topic 8: Nudges and their applications in public policy II
Literature: THALER, R.H., SUNSTEIN, C.R. 2008. Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness. New Haven: Yale University Press, pages 102-198. [česky (2010): Nudge (Šťouch) Jak postrčit lidi k lepšímu rozhodování o zdraví, majetku a štěstí. (Části 3 a 4)
Block V - Topic 9: (Un)attainable goals of human endeavor
Literature: KAHNEMAN, D. (2011). Thinking, Fast and Slow. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, pages 367-398. [česky: KAHNEMAN, D. 2012. Myšlení rychlé a pomalé, Jan Melvil Publishing, ISBN 978-80-87270-42-4, str. 401-448] Topic 10: Social preferences
Literature: KAHNEMAN, D. (2011). Thinking, Fast and Slow. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, pages 399-452. [česky: KAHNEMAN, D. 2012. Myšlení rychlé a pomalé, Jan Melvil Publishing, ISBN 978-80-87270-42-4, str. 449-488]
Block VI - Topic 11
Literature: KRPAN D, GALIZZIM M and DOLAN P. 2019. Looking at Spillovers in the Mirror: Making a Case for “Behavioral Spillunders” Front Psychol 10:1142doi: 103389/fpsyg201901142 SCHMIDT, AT, ENGELEN, B. 2020. The ethics of nudging: An overview. Philosophy Compass. 2020; 15: e12658. https://doi.org/10.1111/phc3.12658 Topic 12:
Literature: THALER, R.H., SUNSTEIN, C.R. 2008. Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness. New Haven: Yale University Press, pages 199-254. [česky (2010): Nudge (Šťouch) Jak postrčit lidi k lepšímu rozhodování o zdraví, majetku a štěstí. (Část 5) SUNSTEIN and THALER, 2003, Libertarian Paternalism Is Not an Oxymoron, The University of Chicago Law Review, Vol 70, No.4. Research and Study Ethics: In line with the tradition of the university and the nature of the subjects taught, the Institute of Sociological Studies of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University places great emphasis on the ethical and responsible behavior of all students. In particular, the following are considered to be significant violations of ethics: a) plagiarism – i.e., the use of someone else´s sentences, data or ideas (or parts of one's own work presented in another subject) without specifying the source; b) manipulation of data and information (e.g., their modification or arbitrary creation); (c) fraud of any kind. Violations of the rules will be strictly resolved according to the FSV UK Disciplinary Code (available on the FSV Disciplinary Committee website). Grading and Classification Scale:
A - outstanding performance with only minor errors, B - above the average standard but with some errors, C - generally sound work with a number of notable errors, D - fair but with significant shortcomings, E - performance meets the minimum criteria, F - fail – considerable further work is required Poslední úprava: Kovács Radek, Ing., Ph.D. (18.09.2024)
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