IIMA - Course Catalogue
Courses
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Programme
PGP
Term
V
Academic Year
2021-22
Course title
Behavioral and Experimental Economics
Area
Economics
Credits
1.00
Instructor(s)
Prof. Jeevant Rampal
Course Description & Objectives
Introduction:
In recent times the professions of economics, business, and politics (among others) have recognized that they are dealing with people (!), and people come with biases, idiosyncrasies, and cognitive limitations. Now a serious dialogue exists between theory and experiments where either field must deliver in the other. This course will provide a behavioral and experimental perspective on game theory, its applications, and other strategic settings. The aim will be to develop theoretical skills to understand “what is optimal” and to develop the experimental techniques to identify “what do people actually do” in various settings. In many cases it will be possible to discuss: “so how can we make this better.”
Objectives:
Understanding optimal strategies in situations of economic interest: auctions, pricing games, and gender interactions etc.
Learning experimental techniques to identify how people’s biases and cognitive limitations shape actual behavior in such strategic interactions.
Understanding how to “nudge” behavior towards “desirable” behavior in such strategic interactions.
Pedagogy
The course will use a mix of lectures, hands-on-experiments (on each other!) and student-presentations. As part of the course, the students will be expected to
(1) Conduct an instructor-approved experimental session on a course-related topic.
(2) Deliver a presentation and final project report with their experimental-findings and consequent implications for business and policy.