Russell Sage Foundation Summer Institute in Behavioral Economics

2024 Camp Announcement

SUMMER INSTITUTE IN BEHAVIORAL ECONOMICS
Dedham, MA -- arriving June 29 and departing July 9, 2024

Sponsored by the Russell Sage Foundation

 

From the evening of Saturday, June 29 (arrival) to the morning of Monday, July 9 (departure), the 15th Summer Institute in Behavioral Economics will be held at Endicott House, Dedham, MA. The workshop introduces graduate students and starting faculty in economics to the findings and methods for using psychological principles to improve economic research. Candidates in other disciplines--such as psychology, business administration, or public policy--with advanced training in economic theory are also eligible.

The co-organizers and principal faculty are David Laibson and Matthew Rabin, who will attend the full program. Visiting faculty include Stefano DellaVigna, George Loewenstein, Ulrike Malmendier, Katy Milkman, Muriel Niederle, Gautam Rao, and Richard Thaler. The program will include sessions outlining foundational principles and evidence; approaches to integrating these principles into economics; and applications in different economic contexts. There will also be panel discussions, Q&A sessions, and opportunities for participants to discuss their own research ideas with the organizers, visiting faculty, and other participants. (Past programs can be found at http://scholar.harvard.edu/laibson/node/31619.)  

Participation is restricted to Ph.D. students who by July 2024 will have completed at least one year of their program, and faculty and postdocs who earned a Ph.D. since May 2023.

Housing costs and all meals served as part of the program (breakfasts, snacks between sessions, and almost all lunches and dinners) will be covered. We also provide a capped stipend for travel expenses, which is linked to the location of your doctoral program and set to cover most, but not all, of the costs of travel from there. (Those admitted for whom unavoidable travel costs in excess of the stipend would generate financial hardship should let us know.) Participants will be required to complete some assigned readings in advance, and to fully attend the entire formal educational program from the morning of June 30 through the afternoon of July 8. (July 4 is a break day with no scheduled events.) 

There are no application instructions beyond this announcement. Applications must be submitted via the RSF online portal, Fluxx. Instructions: (1) Create an account (no later than Friday, March 22) or log in to your existing account. (2) Start a new “Summer Institute” application and select “Behavioral Economics”. (3) Complete the Fluxx application form and submit the following documents: i) a CV; ii) a statement (maximum three pages) describing your interest in behavioral economics and (if any) relevant research; and (except for postdocs and faculty) iii) PhD transcripts of courses and grades (unofficial copy); and iv) two letters of recommendation from faculty advisors (submitted separately via the Fluxx portal). Note: We anticipate a large pool of highly qualified applicants and to make admission decisions quickly, so applications and letters must be received by the deadline; letters can be brief, but as informative as possible about your standing in the program (e.g., approximate rank in your doctoral class, comparisons to previous participants), research potential, and (if applicable) involvement in behavioral economics. Complete applications, including letters of recommendation, must be submitted by Friday, March 29. We will notify applicants by Monday, April 8, and will ask participants to confirm participation soon thereafter. Send all inquiries to RSF.Summer.School@gmail.com. Anybody who needs information before April 8 can (after submitting their application) email such a request with an explanation; we will try to accommodate such requests. Technical questions about the application portal (Fluxx) should be sent to grantsmgt@rsage.org.

Previous Behavioral Camp Information

2022 Camp Schedule

Russell Sage Foundation
14th Summer
Institute in Behavioral Economics
Cambridge, Massachusetts, July 6-17, 202

Organizing Faculty: David Laibson and Matthew Rabin

Thursday, July 7:

09.30 - 10.45 David: Welcome, Intro, & Methods in Behavioral Economics
11.15 - 12.30 Matthew: Normal-Science Behavioral, & Camp Organization (one PDF for all 7/7 sessions)
14.00 - 15.15 Matthew: Utility, Beliefs, and Choice
15.45 - 17.00 Matthew: Prospect Theory & Reference-Dependent Risk Attitudes

Friday, July 8:

09.30 - 10.45 Stefano: Behavioral Labor Economics
11.15 - 12.30 Matthew: News Utility and Other Belief-Based Utility
14.00 - 15.15 Stefano: Transparency and Reliability of Behavioral Research
15.30 - 18.00 Meetings: Matthew, David, Stefano          

Saturday, July 9:

09.30 - 10.45 George: Fragile Self-Esteem
11.15 - 12.30 Richard: Behavioral Economics in Broader Perspective
14.00 - 15.15 Matthew: Social Preferences and Self-Image
15.45 - 17.00 Matthew: Introduction to Limited Rationality
17.15 - 18.15 Group Office Hours/Q&A with Richard

Sunday, July 10:

09.30 - 10.45 George: Misunderstanding Our Own Preferences
11.15 - 12.30 Frank: Drink, Sleep, and be Happy
14.00 - 15.15 Matthew: Modeling Misprediction of Preferences
15.30 - 18.00 Meetings: George, Frank, David, Matthew
 

 

 

 

 


Monday, July 11:

09.30 - 10.45 David: Introduction to Intertemporal Choice
11.15 - 12.30 David: Dynamic Programming with Present Bias in Discrete Time
TBA Group Office Hours, Walk with Matthew (and maybe others)

Tuesday, July 12:

09.30 - 10.45 Lise: Gender in Economics
11.15 - 12.30 David: Dynamic Programming with Present Bias in Continuous Time
14.00 - 15.15 David: Measuring Time Preference
15.45 - 17.00 Stefanie: Social Preferences: Theory and Empirical Evidence
17.00 - 18.30 Meetings: Stefanie, Matthew, David, Lise

Wednesday, July 13:

09.30 - 10.45 Matthew: Errors in Probabilistic Thinking (for both AM sessions)
11.15 - 12.30 Matthew: Attention and Cognition
TBA Walk with Matthew (and maybe others)

Thursday, July 14:

09.30 - 10.45 Ulrike: Experience and Beliefs
11.15 - 12.30 David: Behavioral Household Finance
14.00 - 15.15 Frank: Behavioral Development Economics
15.45 - 17.00 Ulrike: Behavioral Corporate Finance
17.00 - 18.30 Meetings: Ulrike, David, Matthew, Frank 

Friday, July 15:

09.30 - 10.45 David: Choice Architecture
11.15 - 12.30 David: Behavioral Mechanism Design and Paternalism
14.00 - 15.15 Raj: Reducing Inequality with Behavioral-Economic Tools
15.45 - 17.00 Q&A/Roundtable with Raj and David
17.00 - 18.30 Meetings: Ulrike, David, Matthew

Saturday, July 16:

09.30 - 10.45 Matthew: Social Information and Social Inference
11.15 - 12.30 David: Going Forth and Doing Research
14.00 - 15.15 Q&A with David and Matthew

2018 Camp Schedule

Russell Sage Foundation
13th Summer
Institute in Behavioral Economics
Waterville Valley, New Hampshire June 25—July 7, 2018

Organizing Faculty: David Laibson and Matthew Rabin
 

Monday, June 25

20.30                       Opening Dinner

Tuesday, June 26

09.30 – 10.40          David 1: Welcome, Introduction, & Methods in Behavioral Economics

11.00 – 12.10          Matthew 1: Normal-Science Behavioral Economics (& Camp Outline)

14.00 – 15.10          Matthew 2: Utility, Beliefs, and Choice

15.30 – 16.40          Matthew 3: Prospect Theory, Reference Dependence, and News Utility

Wednesday, June 27     Visiting Faculty: Stefano DellaVigna

09.30 – 10.40          Matthew 4: Social Preferences and Self Image

11.00 – 12.10          Stefano 1: Behavioral Labor Economics

14.00 – 15.10          Matthew 5: Introduction to Limited Rationality

15.30 – 16.40          Matthew 6: Narrow Bracketing

17.00 – 18.30          Individual Office Hours: Matthew

17.00 – 18.30          Group Office Hours: Matthew

Thursday, June 28     Visiting Faculty: Stefano, Muriel Niederle, Dick Thaler

09.30 – 10.40          Stefano 2: Structural Behavioral Economics

11.00 – 12.10          Muriel 1: A Gender Agenda, or From the Lab to the Field to Policy

14.00 – 15.10          Matthew 7: Mispredicting Tastes—Evidence, Theory, and Implications

15.30 – 17.30          Individual Office Hours: Stefano, Muriel

15.30 – 18.30          Individual Office Hours: Matthew, David

17.00 – 18.30          Group/Drop-In Office Hours: Richard

Friday, June 29     Visiting Faculty: Muriel, Richard

09.30 – 10.40          Richard: New Findings in Choice Architecture

11.00 – 12.10          David 2: Mechanism Design with Behavioral Agents

14.00 – 15.10          Q&A/Roundtable #1—On Policy, Choice Architecture, and General

15.30 – 16.40          David 3: Biosocial Science

17.00 – 18.30          Group/Drop-In Office Hours: Richard, David

17.00 – 18.30          Individual Office Hours: Muriel

Saturday, June 30     

09.30 – 10.40          David 4: Intertemporal Choice — Theory

11.00 – 12.10          David 5: Intertemporal Choice — Evidence

Sunday, July 1 - Monday, July 2

No sessions

Tuesday, July 3     Visiting Faculty: Eric Johnson, Gautam Rao

09.30 – 10.40          Eric 1: Why is Insurance Choice So Difficult for Consumers?

11.00 – 12.10          Matthew 8: Errors in Probabilistic Reasoning

14.00 – 15.10          Gautam 1: Behavioral Labor Economics

15.30 – 16.40          David 6: Household Finance

17.00 – 18.00          Individual Office Hours: David, Eric, Gautam, Matthew

Wednesday, July 4     Visiting Faculty: Antoinette Schoar, Kelly Shue, Eric, Gautam

09.30 – 10.40          Antoinette 1: Shrouding of Contract Terms in Consumer Finance

11.00 – 12.10          Kelly 1: Topics in Behavioral Finance

14.00 – 15.10          Q&A/Roundtable #2: Behavioral Economics, Markets, and Consumers

15.30 – 17.00          Individual Office Hours: Eric, Matthew, David

15.30 – 18.30          Individual Office Hours: Antoinette, Gautam, Kelly

17.00 – 18.30          Group/Drop-In Office Hours: David

Thursday, July 5     Visiting Faculty: Antoinette, Kelly, Gautam

09.30 – 10.40          Matthew 9: Inattention and Non-Inference

11.00 – 12.10          Matthew 10: Social Information and Social Inference

14.00 – 15.10          Gautam 2: Field Experiments in Behavioral Economics

15.30 – 16.40          Kelly 2: Observational Empirics in Behavioral Economics

17.00 – 18.30          Group/Drop-In Office Hours: Matthew

Friday, July 6

09.30 – 10.40          David 7: Behavioral Agents in Market Equilibrium

11.00 – 12.10          Matthew 11: Behavioral Theory, Themes and Principles

14.00 – 15.10          David 8: Going Forth and Doing Research

15.30 – 16.40          Q&A/Roundtable #3: Discussion & Wrap-Up

20.00                       Good-bye Dinner

Saturday, July 7

10.00                       Bus pick-up for Logan Airport (arriving at Logan by 1 pm)

 

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2016 Camp Schedule

Russell Sage Foundation
12th Summer
Institute in Behavioral Economics
Waterville Valley, New Hampshire June 27—July 9, 2016

Organizing Faculty: David Laibson and Matthew Rabin
 

Monday, June 27

20.30                       Opening Dinner

Tuesday, June 28

09.30 – 10.40          David 1: Welcome, Introduction, & Methods in Behavioral Economics

11.00 – 12.10          Matthew 1: Normal-Science Behavioral Economics (& Camp Outline)

14.00 – 15.10          Matthew 2: Utility, Beliefs, and Choice

15.30 – 16.40          Matthew 3: Prospect Theory, Reference Dependence, and News Utility

19.00                       Dinner

Wednesday, June 29

09.30 – 10.40          Matthew 4: Social Preferences and Self Image

11.00 – 12.10          Matthew 5: Intro to Limited Rationality and Quasi-Utility Maximization

14.00 – 15.10          David 2: Intertemporal Choice — Theory

15.30 – 16.40          David 3: Intertemporal Choice — Evidence

19.00                       Dinner

Thursday, June 30     Visiting Faculty: George Loewenstein, Dick Thaler

09.30 – 10.40          Dick 1: Explainawaytions No More!

11.00 – 12.10          George 1: Misunderstanding and Misprediction of Preferences

14.00 – 15.10          Matthew 6: Mispredicting Preferences—Modeling, Identification, Implications

15.30 – 16.40          Q&A/Roundtable #1—Dick, George, David, Matthew

17.00 – 18.30          Group/Drop-In Office Hours: Matthew I, Dick

17.00 – 18.30          Individual Office Hours: David, George

19.00                       Dinner

Friday, July 1     Visiting Faculty: George, Supreet Kaur, Justin Sydnor

09.30 – 10.40          Justin: Behavioral Economics of Risk and Insurance

11.00 – 12.10          Supreet: Behavioral Development Economics

14.00 – 15.10          George 2: Seeking and Avoiding Information

15.30 – 17.00          Individual Office Hours: George, Justin, Matthew, Supreet

15.30 – 17.00          Group/Drop-In Office Hours: David I

17.00 – 18.30          Individual Office Hours: David, Justin, Matthew, Supreet

17.00 – 18.30          Group/Drop-In Office Hours: George

19.00                       Dinner

Saturday, July 2     Visiting Faculty: Supreet, Justin

09.30 – 10.40          Matthew 7: Choice Heuristics and Narrow Bracketing

11.00 – 12.10          David 4: Mechanism Design with Behavioral Agents

14.00 – 15.10          Q&A/Roundtable #2, Applying Behavioral Insights—Justin, Supreet, David, Matt

Tuesday, July 5     Visiting Faculty: Stefano, Ulrike

09.30 – 10.40          Matthew 8: Errors in Probabilistic Reasoning

11.00 – 12.10          David 5: Household Finance

14.00 – 15.10          Stefano 1: Behavioral Labor Economics

15.30 – 16.40          Ulrike 1: Behavioral Corporate Finance

17.00 – 18.00          Individual Office Hours: David, Stefano

18.00 – 19.00          Individual Office Hours: Matthew, Ulrike

19.00                       Dinner

Wednesday, July 6     Visiting Faculty: Stefano, Ulrike

09.30 – 10.40          Ulrike 2: The Effect of Past Experiences on Financial Decisions

11.00 – 12.10          Stefano 2: Structural Behavioral Economics

14.30 – 15.30          Individual Office Hours: David, Stefano

15.30 – 17.00          Individual Office Hours: Ulrike

15.30 – 17.00          Group/Drop-In Office Hours: Matthew II, Stefano

17.00 – 18.30          Individual Office Hours: Stefano

17.00 – 18.30          Group/Drop-In Office Hours: Ulrike, David II

19.00                       Dinner

Thursday, July 7     Visiting Faculty: Stefano, Ulrike

09.30 – 10.40          David 6: Biosocial Science

11.00 – 12.10          Matthew 9: Social Information and Social Inference

14.00 – 15.10          Q&A/Roundtable #3: Behavioral Empirics and Theory—Stefano, Ulrike, David

15.30 – 17.30          Individual Office Hours: David, Ulrike

17.30 – 19.00          Individual Office Hours: Matthew, Stefano

19.00                       Dinner

Friday, July 8

09.30 – 10.40          David 7: Behavioral Agents in Market Equilibrium

11.00 – 12.10          Matthew 10: Inattention and Non-Inference

14.00 – 15.10          David 8: Going Forth and Doing Research

15.30 – 16.40          Q&A/Roundtable #4: Discussion & Wrap-Up—David, Matthew

20.00                       Good-bye Dinner

Saturday, July 9

10.00                       Bus pick-up for Logan Airport (arriving at Logan by 1 pm)

 

 

2014 Camp Schedule

Russell Sage Foundation

11th Summer Institute in Behavioral Economics

Waterville Valley, New Hampshire June 29—July 11, 2014

Organizing Faculty: David Laibson and Matthew Rabin

Sunday, June 29 

20.30                       Opening Dinner

 

Monday, June 30

09.30 – 10.40          David 1: Welcome, Introduction, & Methods in Behavioral Economics

11.00 – 12.10          Matthew 1: Normal-Science Behavioral Economics (& Camp Outline)

14.00 – 15.10          Matthew 2: Utility, Beliefs, and Choice

15.30 – 16.40          Matthew 3: Prospect Theory, Reference Dependence, and News Utility

19.00                       Dinner

 

Tuesday, July 1

09.30 – 10.40          Matthew 4: Social Preferences and Self Image

11.00 – 12.10          Matthew 5: Intro to Limited Rationality and Quasi-Utility Maximization

14.00 – 15.10          David 2: Present-Biased I—Theory

15.30 – 16.40          David 3: Present-Biased II—Evidence

19.00                       Dinner

 

Wednesday, July 2     Visiting Faculty: Sendhil Mullainathan

09.30 – 10.40          Matthew 6: Mispredicting Preferences—Evidence, Model, Implications

11.00 – 12.10          Sendhil 1: Development Economics and Poverty

14.00 – 15.10          Matthew 7: Choice Heuristics and Narrow Bracketing

15.30 – 16.40          Question & Answer & Discussion Session 1—David, Matthew, Sendhil

17.00 – 18.30          Group/Drop-In Office Hours: Matthew

17.00 – 18.30          Individual Office Hours: David, Sendhil

19.00                       Dinner

 

Thursday, July 3     Visiting Faculty: Sendhil, Colin Camerer

09.30 – 10.40          David 4: Biosocial Science

11.00 – 12.10          Colin 1: Measuring Cognitive & Neural Activity During Choice

14.00 – 15.10          Sendhil 2: Public Finance and Policy

15.30 – 17.00          Individual Office Hours: Colin, Matthew, Sendhil

15.30 – 17.00          Group/Drop-In Office Hours: David

17.00 – 18.30          Individual Office Hours: David, Matthew

17.00 – 18.30          Group/Drop-In Office Hours: Colin, Sendhil

19.00                       Dinner

Friday, July 4     Visiting Faculty: Colin

09.30 – 10.40          Matthew 8: Errors in Probabilistic Reasoning

11.00 – 12.10          Colin 2: Laboratory and Field Evidence of Limited Strategic Thinking

14.00 – 15.10          Question & Answer & Discussion Session 2—Colin, David, Matthew

 

Monday, July 7     Visiting Faculty: Dick Thaler

09.30 – 10.40          Matthew 9: Cognitive Biases: Base-Rate Neglect and General Issues

11.00 – 12.10          Matthew 10: Social Inference and Social Learning

14.00 – 15.10          David 5: Behavioral Macro & Behavioral Asset Pricing

15.30 – 16.40          Dick 1: Libertarian Paternalism—Talk and Q&A

17.00 – 18.30          Individual Office Hours: Dick, Matthew

17.00 – 18.30           Group/Drop-In Office Hours: David

19.00                       Dinner

 

Tuesday, July 8    Visiting Faculty: Devin Pope, Dick

09.30 – 10.40          Devin 1: Empirical Identification of Target Behavior

11.00 – 12.10          David 6: Household Finance

14.00 – 15.10          Dick 2: Perspectives on the Field—Talk and Q&A

15.30 – 17.00          Individual Office Hours: David, Devin

15.30 – 17.00          Group/Drop-In Office Hours: Dick, Matthew

19.00                       Dinner

 

Wednesday, July 9     Visiting Faculty: Devin

09.30 – 10.40          David 7: Behavioral Mechanism Design

11.00 – 12.10          Devin 2: Behavioral Empirics and Observational Data

14.00 – 15.10          Question & Answer & Discussion Session 3—David, Devin, Matthew

15.30 – 17.00          Group/Drop-In Office Hours: Devin

19.00                       Dinner

 

Thursday, July 10

09.30 – 10.40          David 8: Behavioral Agents in Market Equilibrium

11.00 – 12.10          Matthew 11: Utility, Happiness, and Revealed Preference

14.00 – 15.10          David 9: Going Forth and Doing Research

15.30 – 16.40          Question & Answer & Discussion & Wrap-Up—David, Matthew

20.00                       Good-bye Dinner

 

Friday, July 11

10.00                       Bus pick-up for Logan Airport (arriving at Logan by 1 pm)

2012 Camp Schedule

Russell Sage Foundation

10th Summer Institute in Behavioral Economics

Waterville Valley, New Hampshire July 1—July 13, 2012
Main Faculty: David Laibson and Matthew Rabin Schedule (June 30, 2012)

Sunday, July 1

8.30                        Opening Dinner

 

Monday, July 2

9.30 – 10.40             David 1: Welcome, Intro, & Methods in Behavioral Economics

11.00 – 12.10           Matthew 1: Normal-Science Behavioral Economics (& Camp Outline)

2.00 – 3.10               Matthew 2: Belief-Based Preferences & Intro to Prospect Theory

3.30 – 4.40               Matthew 3: Reference Dependence and News Utility

 

Tuesday, July 3

9.30 – 10.40             Matthew 4: Social Preferences

11.00 – 12.10           Matthew 5: Quasi-Utility Maximization; Narrow Bracketing

2.00 – 3.10               David 2: Present-Biased I—Basics, Theory, and Evidence

3.30 – 4.40               David 3: Present-Biased II—Applications and Implications

 

Wednesday, July 4

Visiting Faculty: Colin Camerer, George Loewenstein

9.30 – 10.40             George 1: Foundations of Preferences and Predictions about Preferences

11.00 – 12.10            Matthew 6: Mispredicting Preferences—Model and Implications

2.00 – 3.10               George 2: Empirical Research on Health Incentives

3.30 – 4.40               Q&A 1—Preferences, Time, and Rationality: Colin, David, George, Matthew

5.00 – 6.30               Office Hours: Colin, David, George, Matthew

 

Thursday, July 5

Visiting Faculty: Colin, George

9.30 – 10.40             David 4: Introduction to Neuro-Economics

11.00 – 12.10           Colin 1: Measuring Cognitive & Neural Activity During Choice

2.00 – 3.10               Q&A 2—Foundations and Neuroeconomics: Colin, David, George, Matthew

3.30 – 6.30               Extended Office Hours: Colin, David, George, Matthew

 

Friday, July 6

Visiting Faculty: Colin, George, Ulrike Malmendier, Stefano DellaVigna

9.30 – 10.40             Matthew 7: Psychology-Based Structural Models of Bounded Rationality

11.00 – 12.10           Colin 2: Laboratory and Field Evidence of Limited Strategic Thinking

2.00 – 3.10               Ulrike 1: Behavioral Corporate Finance

3.30 – 4.40               Ulrike 2: Investor Sentiment

Monday, July 9

Visiting Faculty: Stefano, Ulrike, Sendhil Mullainathan

9.30 – 10.40             David 5: Household Finance

11.00 – 12.10           Sendhil 1: Behavioral Development & Poverty Economics

2.00 – 3.10               Stefano 1: Structural Behavioral Economics

3.30 – 4.40               Q&A 3—Empirical Methods: Stefano, Sendhil, Dick, David, Matthew

5.00 – 6.30               Office Hours: Sendhil, Stefano, David, Matthew

 

Tuesday, July 10

Visiting Faculty: Stefano, Ulrike, Sendhil, Dick Thaler

9.30 – 10.40             Sendhil 2: Psychology and Public Finance

11.00 – 12.10           Dick 1: Libertarian Paternalism

2.00 – 3.10               Q&A 4—Policy and Welfare: Dick, Sendhil, David, Stefano, Matthew

3.30 – 5.00               Office Hours: Dick, Sendhil, Stefano, David, Matthew

5.00 – 6.30               Group Office Hours: Dick, Sendhil, Stefano, David, Matthew

 

Wednesday, July 11

Visiting Faculty: Stefano, Ulrike, Dick

9.30 – 10.40             Stefano 2: Social Preferences in the Field

11.00 – 12.10           David 6: Behavioral Macroeconomics

2.00 – 3.10               Dick 2: The State of Behavioral Economics

3.30 – 4.40               Q&A 5—The State of Behavioral Econ: Dick, David, Stefano, Ulrike, Matthew

5.00 – 7.00               Office Hours: Ulrike

 

 

Thursday, July 12

9.30 – 10.40             David 7: Behavioral Agents in Market Equilibrium

11.00 – 12.10           Matthew 8: Rational and Irrational Social Learning

2.00 – 3.10               David 8: Going Forth and Doing Research

3.30 – 4.40               Q&A 6—Whatever is On Your Mind: David, Matthew

8.00                        Good-bye Dinner

 

Friday, July 13

10.00                      Depart Hotel

2010 Camp Schedule

Schedule for Summer Institute in Behavioral Economics
University of Trento, June 28—July 7, 2010

Permanent Faculty: David Laibson, Luigi Mittone, and Matthew Rabin. Visiting
Faculty (in order of appearance): Esther Duflo, Colin Camerer, Andrei Shleifer, Ernst
Fehr, Sendhil Mullainathan, Richard Thaler, and Eldar Shafir

The schedule of talks and planned office hours are as follows (meals and special
events are omitted):

Monday, June 28

9.30 – 10.40       David: Welcome, Intro, & Methods in Behavioral Economics
11.00 – 12.10     Matthew: More Perspectives; Camp Outline, and Questions
2.00 – 3.10         Matthew: Belief-Based Preferences & Intro to Prospect Theory
3.30 – 4.40         Matthew: Reference Dependence and News Utility

Tuesday, June 29

9.30 – 10.40       Matthew: Social Preferences
11.00 – 12.10     Matthew: Quasi-Utility Maximization; Narrow Bracketing
2.00 – 3.10         David: Present-Biased I—Basics, Theory, and Evidence
3.30 – 4.40         David: Present-Biased II—Applications and Implications
5.00 – 6.30         Office Hours: David, Matthew

Wednesday, June 30

9.30 – 10.40       Matthew: Mispredicting Preferences
11.00 – 12.10     Q&A/Roundtable: David and Matthew
2.00 – 3.10         Esther: Nudging Farmers in Kenya: Theory and Evidence
3.30 – 4.40         Colin: Behavioral Game Theory—Thinking and Learning

Thursday, July 1

9.30 – 10.40       Andrei: Behavioral Finance I – Limits of Arbitrage
11.00 – 12.10     Andrei: Behavioral Finance II – Investor Sentiment
2.00 – 3.10         Ernst: The Lure of Authority
3.30 – 6.30         Extended Office Hours: Andrei, Colin, David, Ernst, Esther, Matthew,

Friday, July 2

9.30 – 10.40      Ernst: Fairness & Effort: F’Experiments on G’Exchange and R’procity
11.00 – 12.10    David: Introduction to Neuro
2.00 – 3.10        Colin: Measuring Cognitive & Neural Activity During Choice
3.30 – 4.40        Q&A/Roundtable on Neuroeconomics: Colin, David, Ernst, Matthew

Monday, July 5

9.30 – 10.40      Sendhil: Behavioral Development Economics
11.00 – 12.10    Dick: Save More Tomorrow and Libertarian Paternalism
2.00 – 3.10        David: Household Finance and Optimal Defaults
3.30 – 4.40        Eldar: Primer on Social and Cognitive Psychology
5.00 – 6.00        Office Hours: Dick, Sendhil, Eldar, David, Matthew

Tuesday, July 6

9.30 – 10.40      Eldar and Sendhil: Psychology and Public Policy
11.00 – 12.10    Matthew: Revealed Preference and Happiness
2.00 – 3.10        Roundtable on Paternal Policy: Dick, Sendhil, Eldar, David, Matthew
3.30 – 5.00       Office Hours: Dick, Sendhil, Eldar, David, Matthew
5.00 – 6.00       Group Office Hours: Dick, Sendhil, Eldar, David, Matthew

Wednesday, July 7

9.30 – 10.40     David: Behavioral Macroeconomics
11.00 – 12.10   Dick: Behavioral Economics and the Financial Crisis
2.00 – 3.10       Q&A/Roundtable on BE and the Crisis: Dick, David. (Matthew heckles)
4.00 – 5.30       Office Hours: David, Matthew

Thursday, July 8

9.30 – 10.40     Matthew: Bounded Rationality and Quasi-Bayesian Models
11.00 – 12.10   David: Behavioral Agents in General Equilibrium
2.00 – 3.10       David: Going Forth and Doing Research
3.30 – 4.40       Q&A/Roundtable on Whatever you have in Mind: David, Matthew

2008 Camp Schedule

Summer Institute in Behavioral Economics
University of Trento, June 15-26, 2008

Sunday, June 15

8.15                   Opening dinner at Panorama

Monday, June 16

9.30 – 10.40     David: Welcome, Intro, & Methods in Behavioral Economics
11.00 – 12.10   Matthew: More Perspectives; Camp Outline, and Questions
2.00 – 3.10       Matthew: Present-Biased: Model and General Features
3.30 – 4.40       David: Present-Biased: Evidence, Applications, and Implications
5:30 – 6.30       Matthew leads Local stroll to the village
7.00                   Dinner at Panorama

Tuesday, June 17

9.30 – 10.40     David: Present-Biased Prefs In Markets and In Continuous Time
11.00 – 12.10   Andrei: Behavioral Finance I – Limits of Arbitrage
2.00 – 3.10       Andrei: Behavioral Finance II – Investor Sentiment
3.30 – 4.40       Q&A/Roundtable: Andrei, David, Matthew
5.00 – 6.30       Office Hours: Andrei, David, Matthew
7.00                   Dinner at Panorama

Wednesday, June 18

9.30 – 10.40    Matthew: Belief-based Preferences
11.00 – 12.10  Matthew: Reference-Dependent Utility, loss aversion, and bracketing
2.00 – 3.10      Matthew: Social Preferences
3.50 – 7.00      Guided tour of the city of Trento; depart Panorama at 3.50;
                          Dinner on your own in Trento

Thursday, June 19

9.30 – 10.40    Matthew: Mispredicting Preferences
11.00 – 12.10  Matthew: Quasi-Bayesian Models
2.00 – 3.10      David: Boundedly rational agents in general equilibrium
3.30 – 4.40      Q&A/Roundtable on Theory: David, Matthew
5.00 – 6.30      Office Hours: David, Matthew
7.00                  Dinner at Panorama

Friday, June 20

9.30 – 10.40    Colin: Behavioral Game Theory
11.00 – 12.10  David: Introduction to Neuro
2.00 – 3.10      Colin: Frontiers of Experimental and Neuro Economics
3.30 – 4.40      Q&A/Roundtable on Neuroeconomics: Colin, David
5.00 – 6.30      Office Hours: David, Matthew, Colin
7.00                  Gala Dinner at Antico Pozzo Restaurant at 8.00, leave Center at 7.00

Saturday, June 21

9.30 – 10.40    Sendhil: Psychological Field Experiments in Development
11.00 – 12.10  Sendhil: Behavioral Economics for Public Finance and Poverty
2.00 – 4.00      Office Hours: Sendhil
                          Dinner on your own in Trento

Sunday, June 22

7.30 – 11.30    Bus to Venice departs Panorama 7.30 am, returns around 11.30 pm.

Monday, June 23

9.30 – 10.40    Eldar: Primer on Social and Cognitive Psychology
11.00 – 12.10  Eldar: Behavioral Decision Research and Policy
2.00 – 3.10      Armin: Behavioral Labor Econ 1, Reference-Dependent Utility
3.30 – 6.30      Extended Office Hours: Colin, Eldar, Sendhil, Armin, Matthew, David
7.00                  Dinner at Panorama

Tuesday, June 24

9.30 – 10.40    Armin: Behavioral Labor Econ 2, Contract Enforcement/Institutions
11.00 – 12.10  Dick: Deal or No Deal
2.00 – 3.10      David: Household finance
3.30 – 4.40      Q&A/Roundtable: Dick, Colin, Armin, David, Matthew
5.00– 6.30       Office Hours: David, Matthew, Dick, Colin
                          Dinner on your own in Trento

Wednesday, June 25

9.30 – 10.40    David: Optimal defaults
11.00 – 12.10  Dick: Save More Tomorrow, Libertarian Paternalism
2.00 – 3.10      Matthew: Revealed Preference, Choice, and Happiness
3.30 – 4.40      Q&A/Roundtable on Paternalism: Dick, David, Matthew
5.00 – 6.30      Office Hours: Dick, David, Matthew
7.00                  Gala Dinner at Old Bar Restaurant at 8.00, leave Center at 7.00

Thursday, June 26

9.30 – 10.40    David: Behavioral Economics in Markets: Empirics and Regulation
11.00 – 12.10  David: Going Forth and Doing Research
2.00 – 3.10      Matthew: Going Forth and Doing Research
3.30 – 4.40      Q&A/Roundtable on Whatever you have in Mind: David, Matthew
8.00                  Dinner at Panorama, View Fireworks from Balcony at 11.00

2006 Camp Schedule

Summer Institute in Behavioral Economics
University of Trento, June 18-30, 2006

Sunday, June 18, 2006
                          [Opening dinner]

Monday, June 19, 2006

9.30 – 10.40    David: Welcome, Introduction, and Perspectives and Methods in Behavioral Economics
11.00 – 12.10  Matthew: More Perspectives; Camp Outline, and Questions
2.00 – 3.10      Matthew: Present-Biased: Model and General Features
3.30 – 4.40      David: Present-Biased: Evidence, Applications, and Implications

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

9.30 – 10.40    George 1: Loss Aversion and Choice Bracketing
11.00 – 12.10  George 2: Adaptation and Hedonics
2.00 – 3.10      George 3: Affect and Affective Forecasting

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

9.30 – 10.40    Matthew: Modeling Projection Bias
11.00 – 12.10  David: Neuro Background
2.00 – 3.10      Colin: Neuro Research
3.30 – 4.40      Q&A/Roundtable on Neuro: Colin, David, George
5.00 – 6:30      Office Hours: Colin, George, David, Matthew

Thursday, June 22, 2006

9.30 – 10.40    Colin: Behavioral Game Theory
11.00 – 12.10  Colin: Frontiers of Experimental Economics
2.00 – 3.10      Matthew: Social Preferences: Insights and Problems
3.30 – 6.30      Office Hours: Colin, Jean, David, Matthew

Friday, June 23, 2006

9.30 – 10.40    Jean: Motivated Beliefs
11.00 – 12.10  Jean: Self Perception and Self Signaling
2.00 – 3.10      Matthew: Expectations and Reference-Dependent Utility
3.30 – 4.40      Q&A/Roundtable on Theory: Jean, Matthew, Colin
5.00 – 6:30      Office Hours: David, Matthew, Colin

Monday, June 26, 2006

9.30 – 10.40    Ernst: The Behavioral Effects of the Minimum Wage Law
11.00 – 12.10  Ernst: Reputation and Credit-Market Formation
2.00 – 3.10      Ernst: An Empirical Test of Evolutionary Theories of Human Cooperation
3.30 – 4.40      Stefano: Empirical Work in Behavioral Economics
5.00 – 6:30      Office Hours: Ernst, Stefano, David, Matthew, Ulrike, Sendhil

Tuesday, June 27, 2006

9.30 – 10.40    Eldar: Primer on Social and Cognitive Psychology
11.00 – 12.10  Eldar and Sendhil: A South African Marketing Experiment
2.00 – 3.10      Sendhil: Psychological Field Experiments in Development
3.30 – 4.40      Q&A/Roundtable on Empirical Methods: Ernst, Sendhil, Eldar, Dick, David
5.00 – 6:30      Office Hours: Ernst, Eldar, Sendhil, David, Matthew, Stefano, Ulrike

Wednesday, June 28, 2006

9.30 – 10.40    Ulrike: Behavioral Corporate Finance
11.00 – 12.10  Q&A/Roundtable on Behavioral Finance: Dick, Ulrike, Stefano, Sendhil
2.00 – 3.10      Dick on “Deal or No Deal”
3.30 – 6.30      Extended Office Hours: Dick, Stefano, Ulrike, David, Matthew

Thursday, June 29, 2006

9.30 – 10.40    Dick: Save More Tomorrow, Libertarian Paternalism
11.00 – 12.10  David: Savings/Passivity effects in 401K
2.00 – 3.10      Matthew: Happiness, Revealed Preference, and Other Things
3.30 – 4.40      Q&A/Roundtable on Savings, Intervention, and Policy: David, Dick, Matthew
5.00 – 6:30      Office Hours: Stefano, Ulrike, David, Matthew, Dick

Friday, June 30, 2006

9.30 – 10.40    Stefano and Ulrike: Gyms
11.00 – 12.10  David: Behavioral IO
2.00 – 3.10      David: Going Forth and Doing Research
3.30 – 4.40      Q&A/Roundtable on Whatever you have in Mind: David, Matthew

Past Camp Materials

Past Camp Materials