ECON 413R Behavioral Economics

ECON 413R – Behavioral Economics

Instructor: TA : Name: Joe Price Name: Office Phone: 801-422-5296 Office Location: 162 FOB Email: [email protected]

Office Hours: Monday and Wednesday: 3:20-4:20pm Tuesday: 10:00-11:00am Also by appointment

Paper: The paper must be eight pages and it must include two tables and one figure. References must also be included. The format of the paper should be as follows: intro, background, experimental design, results, and conclusion. You can write the paper as though you have already done the experiment (just make up your data) or you can run an experiment during class and use the results for your paper. The most important criteria that will be used in judging your paper will be whether or not you come up with an interesting idea that relates to the principles taught in the course.

Quizzes: 6 quizzes will be given throughout the semester. They will be approximately 10 minutes each. One quiz will be dropped. No makeup quizzes will be given, nor will quizzes be rescheduled on an individual basis except under rare conditions.

Participation: Participation points will start the second week of class. You will get full participation points for each day that you attend class on-time having read the assigned article ahead of time. This grade will be scored over 24 classes. Two days will be dropped from the score.

Point Breakdown Assignments Percent of Grade Paper 25% Participation 10% Quizzes 20% Midterm 20% Final 25%

Schedule Date Topic Reading Assignment M – Jan 9 Intro W – Jan 11 Sunk Cost Fallacy Just and Wansink (2011) M – Jan 16 Zero prices Shampanier, Mazar, and Ariely (2007) W– Jan 18 Social Norms Gneezy and Rustichni (2000) Incentives M – Jan 23 Just and Price (2012) Quiz 1 W – Jan 25 Relative incentives Bandiera, Barankay, and Rasul (2005) [just sec. 1,3,4,7-8] M – Jan 30 Competition Frank (1997) Date Topic Reading Assignment Experimental design W – Feb 1 List (2011) Quiz 2 M – Feb 6 Reference points Camerer, Babcock, Loewenstein, and Thaler (1997) W – Feb 8 Default options Beshears et al (2009) Endowment effect M – Feb 13 Kahnemna, Knetsch, and Thaler (1991) Quiz 3 W – Feb 15 No class Project work day M – Feb 20 Loss aversion Pope and Schweitzer (2011) W - Feb 22 Midterm Review Th-Sat. Feb 23-25 Midterm M – Feb 27 Anchoring Simonsohn and Loewenstein (2006) W – Mar 1 Conjunction bias List (2002) M – Mar 6 Procrastination Ariely and Wertenbroch (2002) W – Mar 8 Projection bias Busse, Pope, Pope, and Silva-Risso (2012) Overconfidence M – Mar 13 Barber and Odean (2001) Draft Due W – Mar 15 No class Project work day Tax Policy M – Mar 20 Congdon, Kling, and Mullainathan (2009) Quiz 4 W – Mar 22 Persuasion DellaVigna and Gentzkow (2009) M – Mar 27 Social pressure Garicano, Palacios-Huerta, and Prendergast (2005) W – Mar 29 Trust Glaeser et al (2000) Fairness M – Apr 3 Rabin (1993) Quiz 5 W - Apr 5 Poverty Bertrand et al (2004) M – Apr 10 Hope Lybbert et al W- Apr 12 Class Presentations M- Apr 17 Class Presentations Final Review W- Apr 19 Paper due on Tuesday April 19th by 4:30pm Quiz 6 Wed- April 26 Final Exam 7:00am-10:00am in our classroom

University Policy

Honor Code In keeping with the principles of the BYU Honor Code, students are expected to be honest in all of their academic work. Academic honesty means, most fundamentally, that any work you present as your own must in fact be your own work and not that of another. Violations of this principle may result in a failing grade in the course and additional disciplinary action by the university. Students are also expected to adhere to the Dress and Grooming Standards. Adherence demonstrates respect for yourself and others and ensures an effective learning and working environment. It is the university's expectation, and my own expectation in class, that each student will abide by all Honor Code standards. Please call the Honor Code Office at 422-2847 if you have questions about those standards. Sexual Harassment Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits sex discrimination against any participant in an educational program or activity that receives federal funds. The act is intended to eliminate sex discrimination in education and pertains to admissions, academic and athletic programs, and university-sponsored activities. Title IX also prohibits sexual harassment of students by university employees, other students, and visitors to campus. If you encounter sexual harassment or gender-based discrimination, please talk to your professor; contact the Equal Employment Office at 801-422-5895 or 1-888-238-1062 (24-hours), or http://www.ethicspoint.com; or contact the Honor Code Office at 801-422-2847.

Student Disability Brigham Young University is committed to providing a working and learning atmosphere that reasonably accommodates qualified persons with disabilities. If you have any disability which may impair your ability to complete this course successfully, please contact the Services for Students with Disabilities Office (422-2767). Reasonable academic accommodations are reviewed for all students who have qualified, documented disabilities. Services are coordinated with the student and instructor by the SSD Office. If you need assistance or if you feel you have been unlawfully discriminated against on the basis of disability, you may seek resolution through established grievance policy and procedures by contacting the Equal Employment Office at 422-5895, D-285 ASB.