ECON 421 - Behavioral Economics and Finance: Foundations

Prerequisites, MATH 110, ECON 200, MATH 203, with a minimum grade of C- in each prerequisite. This course will introduce students to the fields of behavioral economics and behavioral finance. Behavioral economics is the economic study of human behavior in individual choices, social situations, markets and institutions motivated by the goal to improve the descriptive accuracy and explanatory power of traditional economic analysis. Behavioral finance is the application of insights from behavioral economics and psychology to study individual financial decisions and properties of financial markets and market prices. Students will explore both areas from the perspective of different methodologies (experiments, theory, field studies), focusing on both fundamental concepts and their applications at different levels of social aggregation (from individuals to markets). Some sections of ECON 421 and ECON 521 will be taught together. Letter grade. (Offered spring semester.) 3 credits