Behavioral Economics

What if somebody told you that a great part of economic theories, models, and assumptions are questionable in terms of describing and/or predicting people's behavior?

The primary goal of this course is an introduction to the insights gained from incorporating psychology into economic modeling. Behavioral economics is one of the fastest-growing scientific fields and fields of practice. This interdisciplinary field is a combination of concepts derived from microeconomics, social & cognitive psychology, behavioral decision research, consumer research, neuroeconomics, experimental economics, etc. Its main focus is on the question “How do people, in reality, make decisions”. Some of the more specific questions include: How do real people execute decisions to quit smoking, commit to a relationship or save for retirement? How do they cope with risk and uncertainty? How do they weigh the present against the future? How do people perceive money and use it? Do people know what made us happy in the past and what will make us happy in the future? Do we know what made us happy in the past and what will make us happy in the future? How can brain imaging reveal in-depth comprehension of brain processes relevant to decision-making? Why do we fail on “Mondays” to start dieting or exercising?

Besides theoretical insight in this discipline, students will be presented with practical knowledge on how to manage the choice architecture, generate successful business strategies, and improve their own decision-making. Knowledge of these issues can be a significant source of competitive advantage because they are unknown to most managers and are not taught in most undergraduate and MBA programs.

Course leader

Professor Vedrana Pribičević, Ph.D., graduated from the Economics Faculty of the University of Zagreb, where she majored in Macroeconomics. Professor Ivo Vlaev, Ph.D., professor of behavioral science at Warwick Business School, co-author of MINDSPACE.

Target group

Undergraduate, master's, and MBA students of economics, business, psychology, sociology or any related field.

Course aim

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