Advanced Behavioural Economics

ECRMABE

About this course

Students who are not enrolled in the research master Multidisciplinary Economics should contact the course coordinator for enrollment in this course.

The core theory used in traditional economics rests on basic assumptions on individual selfishness, rationality and utility maximization. During the last three decades, these assumptions have been put into question by a growing stream of literature, broadly defined as “behavioral economics”, which has introduced psychological complexity into the standard economic framework of individual decision making, with the goal of explaining observed puzzles as well as improving the predictive power of models.

Based on field and experimental evidence on how individual behavior departs from the conventional theoretical predictions, behavioral economists have posited explanations for these departures, proposed extensions to the existing models and alternative theoretical approaches aimed at capturing them, and considered what are the possible practical implications of these findings. The focus of this course will be on deviations from the standard economic paradigm in three main domains:

  • Choice under certainty, and risk and uncertainty

  • Intertemporal choice

  • Social preferences

  • Strategic thinking

Exit requirements
· Broad knowledge of core and state-of-the-art theories and empirical methods in economics
· Ability to think in a logical way·
· Ability to critically appraise literature
· Ability to make own research relevant for society
· Being capable of solving problems in a broad (multidisciplinary) context from a discipline-specific economic perspective, while considering relevant social, societal and ethical aspects ·
· Keep track of the external validity and societal relevance of own research

Learning outcomes

Learning objectives
At the end of the course, the student is able to:

  • Distinguish psychological biases and their relevance for various applications;
  • Compare predictions of standard models to the behavioural models in various applications;
  • Assess the findings of empirical studies on behavioral models in various applications;
  • Assess the predictive power of behavioural models in various applications.

Enrolment details

You will be enrolled for this course by administration of the programme of this course.

Prior knowledge

You must meet the following requirements

  • Enrolled for one of the following degree programmes
  • Multidisciplinary Economics (research)

Resources

  • Book The Foundations of Behavioural Economic Analysis
  • Book Markets, games, and strategic behavior: An introduction to experimental economics.
  • Book Behavioural Game Theory: Experiments in strategic interaction
  • Book Advances in Behavioural Economics

Additional information

course
5 ECTS • broadening
  • Level
    master
If anything remains unclear, please check the FAQ of Utrecht University.

Starting dates

  • 10 Nov 2025

    ends 1 Feb 2026

    LocationUtrecht
    LanguageEnglish
    Term *Period 2
    Monday 09:00 - 11:45, Monday 09:00 - 12:45, Monday 09:00 - 15:00, Monday 09:00 - 17:00, Monday 10:00 - 12:45, Monday 11:00 - 15:00, Monday 11:00 - 17:00, Monday 13:15 - 16:00, Monday 13:15 - 17:00, Monday 13:15 - 19:00, Monday 14:15 - 17:00, Monday 15:15 - 18:00, Monday 15:15 - 19:00, Monday 16:15 - 19:00, Tuesday 09:00 - 12:00, Tuesday 09:00 - 12:45, Tuesday 09:00 - 15:00, Tuesday 09:00 - 17:00, Tuesday 10:00 - 12:45, Tuesday 11:00 - 15:00, Tuesday 11:00 - 17:00, Tuesday 13:15 - 16:00, Tuesday 13:15 - 17:00, Tuesday 13:15 - 19:00, Tuesday 14:15 - 17:00, Tuesday 15:15 - 18:00, Tuesday 15:15 - 19:00, Tuesday 16:15 - 19:00, Wednesday 09:00 - 12:00, Wednesday 09:00 - 12:45, Wednesday 09:00 - 15:00, Wednesday 09:00 - 17:00, Wednesday 10:00 - 12:45, Wednesday 11:00 - 15:00, Wednesday 11:00 - 17:00, Wednesday 13:15 - 16:00, Wednesday 13:15 - 17:00, Wednesday 13:15 - 19:00, Wednesday 14:15 - 17:00, Wednesday 15:15 - 18:00, Wednesday 15:15 - 19:00, Wednesday 16:15 - 19:00, Thursday 09:00 - 12:00, Thursday 09:00 - 12:45, Thursday 09:00 - 15:00, Thursday 09:00 - 17:00, Thursday 10:00 - 12:45, Thursday 11:00 - 15:00, Thursday 11:00 - 17:00, Thursday 13:15 - 16:00, Thursday 13:15 - 17:00, Thursday 13:15 - 19:00, Thursday 14:15 - 17:00, Thursday 15:15 - 18:00, Thursday 15:15 - 19:00, Thursday 16:15 - 19:00, Friday 09:00 - 11:45, Friday 09:00 - 12:45, Friday 09:00 - 15:00, Friday 09:00 - 17:00, Friday 10:00 - 12:45, Friday 11:00 - 15:00, Friday 11:00 - 17:00, Friday 13:15 - 16:00, Friday 13:15 - 17:00, Friday 14:15 - 17:00, Friday 15:15 - 19:00
    Enrolment period not yet defined