AECN 896 Behavioral Economics
AECN 896 Behavioral Economics
Syllabus, Spring/Summer Semester, 2007
(also see the
Class
Schedule, for detail on timing of the topics)
"The economy is ... 'embedded' ...(it) is not a sphere of Prudence Only independent of other ethical considerations." (McCloskey, 2006, p. 496)"
"Can a group of asocial monsters, who have never been children and have never loved anything, never had faith or hope or justice or temperance, be shown on a blackboard to create out of rational self-interest a civil society? The problem can be shown rigorously to be insoluble, at least under Prudence-Only axioms of strict self-interest." (McCloskey, 2006, p. 497)
Last update: 10/17/07. Under construction. This is a new course, growing out of a series of readings and seminar courses organized over the period fall, 2004-spring, 2005, and the sense that this field of inquiry, the behavioral approach to economics, is now enough developed to support a full course showing an alternative to traditional economic ways of thinking about human behavior in the economic realm.
Potential Participants in the Course: Graduate students intrigued with the new science of behavioral economics and economic psychology.
Course number, name, call number: AECN 896 Behavioral Economics. Section 3. Call #8900. You can add the course now: I will sign the "late add" slip. Or, alternatively, register for it during the first summer session (we will set up a call number for it at that time). In any case, we will cover the material between mid-February and May 30, 2007.
Prerequisites: Generally, anyone having substantive training in economics may enroll in the course. Knowledge of microeconomics needs to be at the upper division/masters level.
Credits/Hours: 3-credit hours, offered in the time frame, Feb. 9-May 30, 2007. (Note: Generally this course will be offered over a 10-week time frame staring in mid-March through late-May)
Meeting Time and Place: The on-campus class will meet once a week, on Fridays, in Filley Hall 69, East Campus from 2:30-4:30 p.m.
Contact information for Instructor:
Online applications used in this course:
Blackboard holds the set of course material, except for books that need to be accessed through a university library or purchased. The Blackboard site is accessible through http://my.unl.edu/ . We will help you interact with Blackboard, posting "how to do" URL sites at appropriate times, e.g. on "How to use the Discussion Board." There is also a Blackboard Manual available (after you log into Blackboard, and the Course, just click on Tools and then Manual). If you have specific technical difficulties in working with Blackboard, we will provide support: Please contact Terry Workman, Instructional Designer, University of Nebraska-Lincoln at tworkman2@unl.edu or call 402-472-0977.
Course Overview:
This course takes a quite different approach to economics, business (including agribusiness and the food system) economics, and community economics. In particular, did you ever wonder if there was an economics (Note: This is under-construction!):
That points to the need
That suggests designing
If any of this has made you curious and/or has stirred the realization that perhaps there could be an economics (This, too, is under-construction):
It acknowledges
It recognizes in regard to the nature of human nature that it is not only individuals that must seek self-interest to survive but that group survival depends on seeking a shared other-interest in community. This is to say, rather than “there is only me and no need for the we” that calls for economic development and efficiency at all costs, this new way of thinking about economics proposes that the “me needs a we to be” while still recognizing that “without a me there is no we.”
It recognizes that
In more philosophical terms, the course seeks ... see the Metaeconomics website.
In broader context, the course acknowledges the main force...
In practical terms, we focus attention on ...
Course Objectives:
We seek to help students ... The student will:
Course Materials:
The course is centered around a required readings book. This book may be ordered through any number of web based sources, e.g. Amazon, Barnes and Noble, etc., directly from the Publisher.
Altman, M. (ed.). Handbook of Contemporary Behavioral Economics: Foundations and Developments. New York: M.E. Sharpe, 2006.
Recommended reference texts:
Bromley, D. W. Sufficient Reason: Volitional Pragmatism and the Meaning of Economic Institutions. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2006. (Note: This is really an institutional economics book in contrast to a behavioral economics book, albeit these two areas of inquiry are highly intertwined, as in "Institutional and Behavioral Economics (e.g. see IBES, the American Agricultural Economics Section that brings this topic to the table at the annual conference of this association. This book makes it quite clear that one cannot understand individual economic behavior without understanding the institutional context for it... institutions being of three kinds: norms and traditions, working rules of organizations, and property relations. For a review of this book, see Lynne, in press; for a brief commentary on how the approach of this book might be applied, see Lynne, 2007).
Etzioni, A. The Moral Dimension: Toward a New Economics. New York: The Free Press, McMillan, Inc., 1988.
Frank, R. What Price the Moral High Ground? Ethical Dilemma in Competitive Environments. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2004.
McCloskey, D. N. The Bourgeois Virtues: Ethics for an Age of Commerce. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2006.
Journal and other readings: In some Lessons, a particular journal paper or part of another book will be required reading. In these cases, the material will be made available through Blackboard, or, students may access the material directly through local university libraries (e.g. through JSTOR or other reference services; generally the library has direct access to the electronic version of the journal if the library has a subscription to it). For a listing of the most salient publications in this field, see:
Computer and software requirements:
Generally, it is best to have Windows XP (or equivalent) on a computer with at least a Pentium IV (or equivalent) processor and high speed internet access...
The Adobe Reader will be needed for accessing journal papers and book chapters provided in Blackboard. Microsoft Word is the favored word processor for submitting written assignments through Blackboard, although Word Perfect files are also acceptable. Microsoft Excel is needed to work with the simulations and/or to submit assignments in spreadsheet form. It is also acceptable to submit assignments where the materials have been converted into *.pdf files such as with Adobe Acrobat 6.0.
Course Policies and Procedures:
Some flexibility can be given in work being submitted late for good reasons. This is also true for absence from discussions. Missed assignments may be submitted late but under penalty. Generally, technical problems like “My computer crashed, and I lost all of my work” cannot be acknowledged, in that everyone is expected to keep back-up copies of key files.
Grading System:
Category grading is applied, using:
A: 90-100 = Excellent work
B: 80-89 = Good work
C: 70-79 = Poor work
D: 60-69 = Very poor work
F: 50-59 = Insufficient/Failure
Generally, a graduate student must maintain a “B or better” grade point average,
with the goal to obtain at least a B in every course. So, for each
assignment and for individual exams, a grade of 79 or less is subject to the
"safety-net" policy. If your grade is in this range, you have the option of
redoing the exam or assignment. Points will be added on a 1:5 proportion of the new score (e.g.,
if you earn 100-points on the re-write or oral exam, you can earn up to 20 extra
points). However, the total points added cannot give a new grade higher than 80.
This policy is only to recognize that we all have bad days, bad times with a
particular problem set, etc., and to help ensure everyone is successful.
This policy does not affect the grades of others, in that grades are awarded by category. That is, there is no curve: the entire class, e.g., could earn a B or better grade, including all As. Plus/minus grades are also awarded within each category, e.g. 80-84 = B- and 85-89 = B+. We encourage high quality work, and especially recognize progress made by each individual as we move forward through the semester.
Regarding the matter of grades and grading, it would be
great to receive any feedback you might have on the best way for both you as
student and we as the instructors to understand the nature and progress of your
learning.
Exams:
There are no exams.
Written and Computer based assignments:
The main
assignment will be to prepare three PowerPoints, which will account for 80% of
the grade. At least one of these needs to represent a major area of behavioral
economics as delineated in Tomer (2007) other than Experimental Economics and
Psychological Economics, without duplication of said area with another student.
"Notes" or "Audio" must be added to each
slide, and reflect thoughtful analysis of what is
on-going in each of these cases. The PowerPoints will be "Impaticized"
(converted into streaming files, accessible even to dial-up connections) and posted on
Blackboard. The overall
purpose of developing a PowerPoint with extensive
Notes or Audio augmentation is to not only help yourself and the reader
understand, but also
to persuade.
Discussion on Blackboard:
Participation in Discussion will provide for the other 20% of the grade. The Discussion is evaluated using a Rubric for Evaluating Discussion, which recognizes that the ongoing conversation in the discussion needs to be connected to the underlying scientific conversation (seeing science as a kind of conversation) in the books, journal papers... as well as to that in other realms, like the contemporary environmental news, and with one's own experiences in dealing with such issues.
Assessment:
The goal is to provide feedback within 1 to 2-weeks, and always before the next exam or assignment. Feedback on the Discussion is provided about the same time as on the Exam, in that Discussion Board activity correlates with the material for the Exam. An attempt is made to provide an ample basis for ratings and grades. To accomplish this, rubrics (e.g. see the Supply-Demand Rubric) are used. See the Discussion Board Rubric; Exam Essays Rubric (also, see Rating Scale); PowerPoint Presentations Rubric; and the Papers Rubric ). This use of a Rubric gives a basis for giving the reason for the specific Rating.
Class Schedule (see UNL Academic Calendar for other important dates):