SS 15

Summer Term 2015

Experimental methods, Lecture and tutorial

Urs Fischbacher (lecture) and Konstantin Hesler (tutorial)

Monday, 15:15-16:45, A702, lecture
Monday, 17:00-18:30, A702, tutorial according to schedule

The inspection of the exam Experimental Methods will take place on 03.11.2015 at 14 o´clock in room F 315. Content

Experiments have established their own role in economics as a source of knowledge. Experiments allow testing the behavioral assumptions underlying economic modeling; they provide tests for the empirical validity of different models and permit to establish behavioral regularities even when a theory is not yet available. Experiments also guide the researchers in the development of new theories. So, without experiments, prospect theory and social preference theories would be without relevance, since the relevance could not be proven.
This lecture gives an introduction into the experimental method in economics. It should enable you to design, plan, conduct, and analyze an economic experiment. Furthermore, it presents typical and prototypical experimental designs.

Course Outline

Change of Schedule

Master Seminar Behavioral Public Economics

Urs Fischbacher

Overview

Behavioral economics investigates empirical deviations from economic standard theory, e.g. social preferences, loss aversion with respect to reference point or time inconsistent behavior and self-control problems. In this seminar, we discuss how these deviations affect issues related to public economics. This includes topics like charitable giving, the provision of public goods, taxation or nudging.

Requirements

• Talk of 60-70 minutes; participation in the discussion.
• Seminar thesis of 15 to 20 pages. For the grade, the talk values 40%, oral participation 10 % and the thesis 50%.

Required knowledge

• Good knowledge of game theory.

Schedule

Preliminary meeting: F208, 14. April 2015, 18:45 – 19:45.

Seminar: Thursday/Friday 11./12. June 2015, TWI, Hauptstrasse 90, Kreuzlingen, Switzerland.

Course Outline

Topics

1. Measuring welfare
2. Social comparison and happiness
3. Charitable Giving
4. Public goods: voluntary contributions
5. Public goods: mechanisms
6. Optimal taxation
7. Tax evasion
8. Mental accounting
9. Selfcontrol
10. Saving
11. Addiction
12. Nudging and libertarian paternalism

Distribution of Topics

Bachelorseminar “How Culture/Society Affects Preferences: Theories and Applications”

Dr. Katrin Schmelz

Dates:

Details