B5558 - STATISTICS FOR MODELLING ECONOMIC BEHAVIOURS

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students will be acquainted with the main behavioural economic theories, with the appropriate data sources and statistical models to analyse them, and with the potential public and private strategies drawing from behavioural evidence, with a specific focus on consumer behaviour.

Course contents

The course reviews the key elements of behavioral economics and policy under an applied perspective, covering issues related to statistical measurement and modelling of economic behavior, with a specific focus on consumer behaviour.

• Rationality, irrationality and limited rationality of economic agents
• Fast and slow thinking systems
• Heuristics and behavioral biases
• Statistical measurement of preferences and choices
  • Stated vs. revealed preferences
  • Artificial intelligence and measurement
• Statistical modelling of economic behaviours
• Applications
  • Mental accounting and budgeting
  • Reference prices, loss aversion and the reversibility of demand functions
  • Saliency of fiscal measures and signaling
  • Choice architecture and nudging
  • Food choice, health and environmental sustainability
  • Behaviours and the market for insurances

Readings/Bibliography

The course is based on lecture notes and chapters/articles provided through the e-learning platform

Teaching methods

The course consists of a combination of theoretical lectures, applied case studies and quantitative tutorials using real data and the statistical software Stata. No preliminary knowledge of Stata is required to take the course, and students will be provided with introductory materials.

Assessment methods

• During the course, students will be provided with case studies, data and research questions and will be required to write a short report to be delivered and presented by the end of the course

• For those students who do not deliver the essay, or fail, it will be possible to take a written exam with multiple-choice and open-ended questions, including the interpretation of findings from a case study.

Teaching tools

This module provides a set of case studies on statistical models of economic behaviors. The e-learning platform will enable access to interactive contents, data and case studies, Stata codes.

Office hours

See the website of Mario Mazzocchi