Uwe Dulleck is a Professor of Economics and Executive Dean of the Faculty of Business, Government and Law at University of Canberra. Prior to joining UC, Uwe was a Professor in Applied Economics at QUT Business School, Professor of Economics at the University of Linz, Austria and an Assistant Professor at the University of Vienna. Uwe’s research and education expertise spans behavioral economics, economic experiments using biofeedback data, expert services and credence goods, and information economics. His work in these fields is widely published and includes the American Economic Review, Journal of Economic Literature, Economic Journal, Journal of Public Economics, International Journal of Industrial Organization, and the Scandinavian Journal of Economics. His research has been discussed in the Economic Focus of The Economist, Sydney Morning Herald and the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung (the Sunday edition of Germany’s leading quality newspaper), among others.
This course will provide an introduction to the methods used in behavioural economics. After an introduction to the basic concept of an experimental approach and why it may be needed to enable government and researchers to evaluate policy interventions, this course will explain the foundations of causal analysis, discuss important statistical concepts relevant for design and implementation of randomised controlled trials. Laboratory experiments, basic statistical methods needed to analyse trial data and provide examples and applications will also be examined. Special emphasis will be put on the ingredients that are needed to run an effective and informative randomised controlled trial.
Course overview
Topics include:
- General concepts of behavioural economics
- Statistical concepts
- Basic econometric tools
- How to develop a randomised controlled trial
- Natural, laboratory and field experiments: evaluation methods of behavioural economics
- Randomisation and methodological issues
- Data analysis: examples and applications
- Lab experiments: examples and applications
Learning outcomes:
- Identify policy problems that lend themselves to behavioural economic interventions.
- Develop interventions and an evaluation strategy.
- Identify quantitative methods used to evaluate the effectiveness of behavioural economic interventions.
- Name empirical, ethical and political limitations of the approach.
Who should attend?
This course is suitable for APS 5 / 6 and EL 1 / 2 level (or equivalent). The course will involve basic mathematical and statistical concepts that will be explained as part of the course. The course is suitable for beginners and as a refresher for those with a basic statistics background.
No prior experience/knowledge required.
Presenter
Dr Ho Fai Chan
Ho Fai Chan is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the School of Economics and Finance at QUT Business School and Centre for Behavioural Economics, Society and Technology (BEST). His main research lies in the areas of Science of Science (SciSci) and Scientometrics which aim to provide better understanding of the relations and interactions between scientific agents using quantitative methods. His work has been published in journals such as Nature, Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Labour Economics, Journal of Business Research, Scientometrics, PLOS One, Psychological Science, JAMA Network Open.