The National Centre for Econometric Research (NCER) will hold a short course titled, "Behavioural and Experimental Economics" at QUT, from 21 March to 30 March, 2012 (five lessons over the period). If you are interested in attending, please contact the Administration Coordinator.

All QUT higher degree research students and interested staff members are welcome to attend, free-of-charge. For other interested parties, please contact the Administration Coordinator for course fees.

All participants are required to contact the Administration Coordinator for registration purposes.

The lectures will be held in Room Z808, Gardens Point Campus, QUT.

Course Convener

Professor Martin G. Kocher

Martin Kocher is Chair of Behavioral and Experimental Economics at the Department of Economics, University of Munich, and Visiting Professor at the Economics Department, University of Gothenburg. He has previously held positions at the University of East Anglia, the University of Amsterdam and the University of Innsbruck, where he obtained his doctorate. Martin Kocher’s research centers on the analysis of the behavior of individuals in auctions, in collective decision-making, in drawing up contracts in principal-agent relationships, in trusting and reciprocal behavior, or in situations where you can choose between cooperation and conflict. Based on theoretical predictions, he uses economic experiments that allow analyzing behavior in a controlled manner. He has published in many leading general interest and field journals in economics, including the Review of Economic Studies, Management Science, the Economic Journal and Games and Economic Behavior. Martin Kocher is co-editor of the Journal of Economic Psychology, speaker of the board of directors for the interdisciplinary laboratory MELESSA at the University of Munich, and Fellow of the National Centre for Econometric Research, Australia, and CESifo Munich. He has been an advisor to the German Ministry of Finance and the Government of Liechtenstein. Martin Kocher’s research has been featured widely in the media, including the London Times, the Guardian, Business Week, BBC, CNN, and many German speaking newspapers, magazines and TV stations.

Course Overview

The standard economic paradigm has been complemented over the last decades by important insights from psychological research, sociology, biology, and other related fields. Concurrently, the methodological foundations of laboratory and field experiments in economic environments have been developed, and experimental methods have been applied to many basic and more applied research questions. Results from experiments provide feedback and input for the development of new models of economic behavior. This course aims to provide an exemplary overview of the interesting research programs from behavioral and experimental economics, to give a flavor of their importance and their extent as well as and, probably most importantly, to create a basis and interest for the use of the methods in one’s own research.

Course Materials

Introduction
Cooperation in social dilemmas
Behavioural labor economics
Economic preferences of kids and adolescents

 

Course Schedule

Date and Time Topic
Wednesday 21 March
11:30 am to 1:30 pm

Introduction to Behavioral and Experimental Economics

Literature

Smith, Vernon (1976). Experimental economics: induced value theory. AER P&P 66, 274-79.

Royal Swedish Academy of Science (2002). Foundations of behavioral and experimental economics: Daniel Kahneman and Vernon Smith
Thursday 22 March
8:30 am to 10:30 am

Cooperation in social dilemmas

Literature

Fehr, Ernst and Gächter, Simon (2000). Cooperation and punishment in public goods experiments. AER 90, 980-94.

Sutter, Matthias, Haigner, Stefan and Kocher, Martin (2010). Choosing the stick or the carrot? – Endogenous institutional choice in social dilemma situations. Rev Econ Studies 77, 1540-66.
Friday 23 March
1 pm to 3 pm

Behavioral labor economics

Literature

Fehr, Ernst, Kirchsteiger, Georg and Riedl, Arno (1993). Does fairness prevent market clearing? An experimental investigation. QJE 108, 437-60.

Brown, Martin, Falk, Armin and Fehr, Ernst (2004). Relational contracts and the nature of market interactions. Econometrica 72, 747-80.
Tuesday 27 March
11 am to 1 pm		 Economic Preferences of Children and Adolescents

Literature

Sutter, Matthias and Kocher, Martin (2007). Trust and trustworthiness across different age groups. GEB 59, 364-82.

Sutter, M., Kocher, M., Rützler, D., Trautmann, S. (2010). Impatience and uncertainty: experimental decisions predict adolescents' field behavior. IZA Working Paper.
Wednesday 28 March
11:30 am to 1:30 pm		 Other topics on demand

Literature

Either team decision making, or behavioral sports economics.

Enquiries and Registration

For further details please contact the NCER Administration Coordinator:

Angela Fletcher
Queensland University of Technology
Email: a.fletcher@qut.edu.au