ECON 233
Behavioral Economics and Public Policy Spring 2025
Division II

In many ways, the fields of psychology and economics both study the same phenomena: the motives that guide our decision-making across different contexts. This course provides a survey of the ways in which these two fields intersect, i.e., behavioral economics. Topics include how individual responses to economic incentives can be influenced by heuristics, framing, social norms, and other psychological motives; we will also study how these concepts are incorporated into microeconomics models. Concurrently, the course will review applications of these ideas to public policy and firm strategy. For instance, we will examine how behavioral economics has informed efforts to reduce poverty, increase environmental conservation, encourage long-term financial planning, and improve health and diet outcomes, among many other topics. The course will also discuss whether and how we ought to judge which behaviors are socially desirable and worth encouraging through policy.