The course covers topics from behavioral economics with regard to contents and methods. In addition, the students gain insight into the design of economic experiments. Furthermore, the students will become acquainted with reading and critically evaluating current research papers in the field of behavioral economics.

The students

• gain insight into fundamental topics in behavioral economics;
• get to know different research methods in the field of behavioral economics;
• learn to critically evaluate experimental designs;
• get introduced to current research papers in behavioral economics;
• become acquainted with the technical terminology in English.

The assessment consists of a written exam (60 minutes) (following §4(2), 1 of the examination regulation).

The course will be offered as scheduled during the Winter Term 2026/2027 by Dr. Hannes Rau. However, the examination schedule during this period differs from the regular examination cycle (i. e. examinations are not offered every semester):

• Winter Term 2026/2027: Two written examination dates will be offered. The main examination will take place in February 2027. A second examination date end of March 2027 is reserved exclusively for students who did not pass the main examination.
• Summer Semester 2027: No examination will be offered.

The final grade is based on the written examination. In addition, students may earn a bonus to their final grade by successfully completing a special assignment. If the grade in the written examination is between 4.0 and 1.3, the bonus may improve the grade by up to one grade level (i. e., 0.3 or 0.4). Further details will be announced at the beginning of the course.

The total workload for this course is approximately 135 hours. For further information, plese refer to the German course description.

The course will be taught in English.

Recommendations:

Basic knowledge of microeconomics and statistics are recommended. A background in game theory is helpful, but not absolutely necessary.

Kahnemann, Daniel: Thinking, Fast and Slow. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2011.