This course aims to teach students some techniques of behavioural economics, classical economics, and compare the two approaches. It focuses on the principles and basic models of decision-making used by both streams of economists, as well as their consequences.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

1. demonstrate an understanding of how behavioural economists think and approach economic questions;
2. clearly express the advantages, disadvantages, criticisms and limitations of Behavioural Economics.
3. demonstrate an understanding of the tools taught in class and be able to recognise their application to the analysis of real world situations;
4. demonstrate an understanding of aspects of decision-making and solve simple analytical problems.

Research-Led Teaching

The lecturer is a user and developer of behavioral models and applications in his own research. As a consequence, students will be exposed to the use of behavioral models in

current economic research.

Recommended Resources

Erik Angner, A course in behavioral economics, 3rd edition, PALGRAVE MACMILLAN 2021. You can purchase the textbook from the bookstore on campus. ANU Library also has eBook version of the third edition as well as hard copies available for short term loan in the Chifley Library. The Library also has copies of the 2nd edition including an electronic version.

Staff Feedback

Students will be given feedback in the following forms in this course:

• written comments
• verbal comments
• feedback to whole class, groups, individuals, focus group etc

Student Feedback

ANU is committed to the demonstration of educational excellence and regularly seeks feedback from students. Students are encouraged to offer feedback directly to their Course Convener or through their College and Course representatives (if applicable). Feedback can also be provided to Course Conveners and teachers via the Student Experience of Learning & Teaching (SELT) feedback program. SELT surveys are confidential and also provide the Colleges and ANU Executive with opportunities to recognise excellent teaching, and opportunities for improvement.

Class Schedule

Week/Session	Summary of Activities	Assessment
1	0. Introduction A. Origins of behavioral economics (Chap 1.2) B. Methods (Chap 1.3)I. Choice under certainty A. Rational choice (Chap 2)	All chapter references refer to Angner (2021) A course in behavioral economics, 3rd edition.
2	I. Choice under certainty (continued)B. Sunk Costs, Coherent arbitrarinessand context effects (Chap 3.2, 3.3 & 3.4)C. Loss aversion, anchoring & adjustment, choice overload(Chap 3.5 & 3.6)D. Framing effects, bundling & mental accounting(Chap 7.2 & 7.3)	Tutorial activities
3	II. Judgement Under Risk and Uncertainty A. Probability Theory (Chap 4.2 & 4.3) B. Conditional probability, total probability, Bayes' rule and Bayesian Updating (Chap 4.4, 4.5 & 4.6)	Tutorial activities;
4	II. Judgement Under Risk and Uncertainty (continued) C. Conjunction & disjunction fallacies (Chap 5.3) D. Representativeness and other heuristics and biases (Chap 5.2, 5.4, 5.5 & 5.6)	Tutorial activities; Assignment 1 due 5pm Friday 15 August.
5	III. Choice Under Risk and Uncertainty A. Rational choice under uncertainty (Chap 6)	Tutorial activities;
6	III. Choice Under Risk and Uncertainty (continued) B. Allais and Ellsberg problems, probability weighting, prospect theory and multiple priors (Chap 7.4, 7.5 & 7.6)	Tutorial activities; Assignment 2 due 5pm Friday 29 August
7	IV. Inter-temporal Choice A. The exponential discounted utility (EDU) model (Chap 8) B. Evidence against the EDU model	Tutorial activities;
8	IV. Inter-temporal Choice (continued) C. Hyperbolic discounting (Chap 9.2 & 9.3) D. Temptation & Self-control (see references from lecture slides) E. Misprediction and miswanting (Chap 9.5)	Tutorial activities
9	V. Strategic Interaction A. A (very!) brief introduction to game theory (Chap 10)	Tutorial activities; Assignment 3 due 5pm Friday 3 October.
10	V. Strategic Interaction (continued)B. Models of social preferences: distributional preferencesand face-saving concerns (Chap 11.2)C. Intentions-based social preferences (Chap 11.3)D. Boundedly rational strategic reasoning (Chap 11.4)	Tutorial activities
11	VI. Choice Architecture (Chap 12.2)	Tutorial activities; Assignment 4 due 5pm Friday 17 October.
12	VII. Assessing behavioral economics (Chap 12.3)	Tutorial activities
13	Final Exam	Due date for final exam is 10/30/2025. Return date is 3/12/2025.

Tutorial Registration

All tutorials this semester will be delivered on-campus. You are expected to attend one tutorial each week from Week 2 onwards.ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.  https://www.anu.edu.au/students/program-administration/timetabling

Assessment Summary

Assessment task	Value	Learning Outcomes
Problem Sets. 40%	40 %	1,2,3
Final Examination 60%	60 %	1,2,3

* If the Due Date and Return of Assessment date are blank, see the Assessment Tab for specific Assessment Task details

Policies

ANU has educational policies, procedures and guidelines , which are designed to ensure that staff and students are aware of the University’s academic standards, and implement them. Students are expected to have read the Academic Integrity Rule before the commencement of their course. Other key policies and guidelines include:

• Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
• Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure
• Extenuating Circumstances Application
• Student Surveys and Evaluations
• Deferred Examinations
• Student Complaint Resolution Policy and Procedure
• Code of practice for teaching and learning

Assessment Requirements

The ANU is using Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the Academic Skills website. In rare cases where online submission using Turnitin software is not technically possible; or where not using Turnitin software has been justified by the Course Convener and approved by the Associate Dean (Education) on the basis of the teaching model being employed; students shall submit assessment online via ‘Canvas’ outside of Turnitin, or failing that in hard copy, or through a combination of submission methods as approved by the Associate Dean (Education). The submission method is detailed below.

Moderation of Assessment

Marks that are allocated during Semester are to be considered provisional until formalised by the College examiners meeting at the end of each Semester. If appropriate, some moderation of marks might be applied prior to final results being released.

Participation

Lectures will be delivered on-campus and attendance is expected. Slides will be made available before the lectures on Canvas. Lectures will be recorded and will include all the written notes and diagrams from the lecture. This recording will be uploaded to Echo360. The Echo360 recording is a valuable resource that complements the live lectures but students are warned that it is not a perfect substitute and your learning experience and outcomes will be better achieved if you attend lectures. All tutorials will be delivered on-campus. Participation in tutorials is strongly encouraged but is not compulsory. However, I will not be providing answer keys to tutorials as I believe they do not adequately replicate tutorial attendance. A student who misses a tutorial should ensure they work through the questions and utilise the consultation sessions of either their tutor or the lecturer if they require any assistance with any of the tutorial questions.

Assessment Task 1

Problem Sets. 40%

There will be four assignments. The questions for each problem set will be posted on Canvas no less than 1 week before the due date. Answers will be due Friday at 5pm in weeks 3, 6, 9 & 11 and should be submitted via Turnitin. Answer keys to each assignment will be posted on Canvas after the due date (after all extended deadlines have passed.) Our aim is to return marked assignments within 10 days of submission (and before the due date of the next assignment).

Assessment Task 2

Final Examination 60%

The final exam will contribute 60% of the overall mark. The exam will be held ON CAMPUS during the examination period. It will be comprehensive, in the sense that questions may be drawn from all the topics discussed during the semester. Past exam papers are a good guide to the type of questions that will be asked. Return date is 3/12/2025.

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a core part of the ANU culture as a community of scholars. The University’s students are an integral part of that community. The academic integrity principle commits all students to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support, academic integrity, and to uphold this commitment by behaving honestly, responsibly and ethically, and with respect and fairness, in scholarly practice.

The University expects all staff and students to be familiar with the academic integrity principle, the Academic Integrity Rule 2021, the Policy: Student Academic Integrity and Procedure: Student Academic Integrity, and to uphold high standards of academic integrity to ensure the quality and value of our qualifications.

The Academic Integrity Rule 2021 is a legal document that the University uses to promote academic integrity, and manage breaches of the academic integrity principle. The Policy and Procedure support the Rule by outlining overarching principles, responsibilities and processes. The Academic Integrity Rule 2021 commences on 1 December 2021 and applies to courses commencing on or after that date, as well as to research conduct occurring on or after that date. Prior to this, the Academic Misconduct Rule 2015 applies.

 

The University commits to assisting all students to understand how to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support academic integrity. All coursework students must complete the online Academic Integrity Module (Epigeum), and Higher Degree Research (HDR) students are required to complete research integrity training. The Academic Integrity website provides information about services available to assist students with their assignments, examinations and other learning activities, as well as understanding and upholding academic integrity.

Online Submission

You will be required to electronically sign a declaration as part of the submission of your assignment. Please keep a copy of the assignment for your records. Unless an exemption has been approved by the Associate Dean (Education) submission must be through Turnitin.

Hardcopy Submission

For some forms of assessment (hand written assignments, art works, laboratory notes, etc.) hard copy submission is appropriate when approved by the Associate Dean (Education). Hard copy submissions must utilise the Assignment Cover Sheet. Please keep a copy of tasks completed for your records.

Late Submission

Individual assessment tasks may not be submitted late. Policy regarding late submission is detailed below:

• Late submission without a granted extension is not permitted. A mark of 0 will be awarded for the late submission of assessment tasks after the due date.

Referencing Requirements

The Academic Skills website has information to assist you with your writing and assessments. The website includes information about Academic Integrity including referencing requirements for different disciplines. There is also information on Plagiarism and different ways to use source material. Any use of artificial intelligence must be properly referenced. Failure to properly cite use of Generative AI will be considered a breach of academic integrity.

Returning Assignments

Our aim is to return marked assignments within 10 days of submission (and before the due date of the next assignment).

Extensions and Penalties

Extensions and late submission of assessment pieces are covered by the Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure. Extensions may be granted for assessment pieces that are not examinations or take-home examinations. If you need an extension, you must request an extension in writing on or before the due date. If you have documented and appropriate medical evidence that demonstrates you were not able to request an extension on or before the due date, you may be able to request it after the due date.

Resubmission of Assignments

There will be no opportunity to resubmit assignments after the due date.

Privacy Notice

The ANU has made a number of third party, online, databases available for students to use. Use of each online database is conditional on student end users first agreeing to the database licensor’s terms of service and/or privacy policy. Students should read these carefully. In some cases student end users will be required to register an account with the database licensor and submit personal information, including their: first name; last name; ANU email address; and other information.
In cases where student end users are asked to submit ‘content’ to a database, such as an assignment or short answers, the database licensor may only use the student’s ‘content’ in accordance with the terms of service – including any (copyright) licence the student grants to the database licensor. Any personal information or content a student submits may be stored by the licensor, potentially offshore, and will be used to process the database service in accordance with the licensors terms of service and/or privacy policy.
If any student chooses not to agree to the database licensor’s terms of service or privacy policy, the student will not be able to access and use the database. In these circumstances students should contact their lecturer to enquire about alternative arrangements that are available.

Distribution of grades policy

Academic Quality Assurance Committee monitors the performance of students, including attrition, further study and employment rates and grade distribution, and College reports on quality assurance processes for assessment activities, including alignment with national and international disciplinary and interdisciplinary standards, as well as qualification type learning outcomes.

Since first semester 1994, ANU uses a grading scale for all courses. This grading scale is used by all academic areas of the University.

Support for students

The University offers students support through several different services. You may contact the services listed below directly or seek advice from your Course Convener, Student Administrators, or your College and Course representatives (if applicable).

• ANU Health, safety & wellbeing for medical services, counselling, mental health and spiritual support
• ANU Accessibility for students with a disability or ongoing or chronic illness
• ANU Dean of Students for confidential, impartial advice and help to resolve problems between students and the academic or administrative areas of the University
• ANU Academic Skills supports you make your own decisions about how you learn and manage your workload.
• ANU Counselling promotes, supports and enhances mental health and wellbeing within the University student community.
• ANUSA supports and represents all ANU students