Behavioral Economics and Decision Making

Course Description

Behavioral economics is a relatively new field at the intersection of economics and psychology. It originally stemmed from a series of observations that the standard economic view of people as “rational expected utility maximizers” does not hold true in a number of contexts. This led to the psychologist Daniel Kahneman’s formulation of prospect theory and eventually, to his winning a Nobel Prize in Economics.

This course offers an introduction to behavioral economics and its applications to health and health care. In the course, we will examine the key conceptual underpinnings of the field. Then we will consider:

• The structure of choice environments and the ways that people are influenced by how choices are framed.

• The design of incentives and various approaches used to “supercharge” incentive programs using behavioral economic principles.

• The use of social incentives and social comparisons as a way of achieving better physician performance.

Finally, the course will conclude with some consideration of how behavioral economics can be used in a policy context, and with the important question of when a “nudge” becomes a shove.