Course Syllabus

Semester & Location:	Spring 2026 - DIS Copenhagen
Type & Credits:	Elective Course - 3 credits
Major Disciplines:	Business, Economics
Prerequisite:	One course in intermediate or advanced microeconomics at university level.
Faculty Member:	Alice Pizzo (alpi@dis.dk)  and Sarah Zaccagni (saza@dis.dk)
Time & Place:	Mondays 14:50-17:45 Classroom: F24-306

Course description:

Behavioral Economics revises the standard economic model of human behavior by integrating insights from psychology with economic analysis. This course is grounded in behavioral theory and experimental evidence that examine how economic decision-making actually occurs in practice. Students will develop analytical skills by engaging with competing theories and analyzing data on real-world choices shaped by social norms that often diverge from the assumptions of strict rationality. Particular attention is given to differences in behavior and norms across Nordic and European countries compared to the predominantly American research discussed in class. The course also includes two field studies, providing hands-on experience with behavioral economic applications in European corporate and startup environments.

Learning objectives of the course:       

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

• Understand what behavioral biases are and identify domains where they exist
• Learn how one can exploit biases in markets and through interaction with other individuals
• Know how a range of behavioral biases (in individual decision making and interactive decisions) have been addressed in the behavioral economics literature
• Understand the tension between traditional economics and behavioral economics, and how they might or might not explain biases
• Be able to structure a research question on observed behavioral biases
• Be able to test your own behavioral hypothesis with experimental methods
• Gain the necessary skills to approach and understand the growing body of behavioral economics literature

Course books:

They can be picked up the following textbooks from the DIS library during arrivals week:

John List: “The Voltage Effect” (VE)

Uri Gneezy "Mixed Signals"

These are easy-to-read books with several real-life examples where behavioral economics and experiments can help us understand puzzling phenomena. Additionally, we do recommend that while reading the book, students should take notes of potential new ideas derived from the results explained in the books, and that could be used later for the semester project that students have to deliver. We explain the semester project in more detail below. In addition, several research papers for each lecture will be available on DIS Canvas, but most of them can be found online.

Pre-requisites:

One course in intermediate or advanced microeconomics at the university level.

Approach to teaching:

The course mixes theory from textbooks, research papers, practical exercises, and experiments. The course combines discussion-based class sessions, class-based experiments, teamwork, and team presentations through assignments. Your learning process depends on your active participation in class as well as outside the classroom. You are strongly encouraged to bring your observations into the classroom.

Expectations of the students:

We expect students to be curious and willing to engage in discussions. For the semester project, we expect students to observe behavior in the real world, reflect on it, and be able to design an experiment to test it.

Computer policy:

You can use laptops and tablets for note-taking purposes. These devices (and maybe smartphones) may also be used for conducting online experiments, so please bring them to class.

Components of Course Grades:

1. Exam First Half (15 out of 100 points): There will be a midterm exam with questions in the readings from the first half of the term. Any material covered in Lectures 1 through 6 is fair game for the exam. It is an open-book exam that will last 1.5 hours.
2. Student participation (10 out of 100 points): This component covers active participation in class, performance in small assignments, and in-class experiments. Participation is not to be confused with mere attendance during the semester. A qualitative judgment of your contribution will be made by the instructors, and improper use of computers in class can, for instance, affect this assessment.
3. Semester Project (50 out of 100 points):
   Each student will be randomly assigned to a team.

1. 1. First, each group has to upload 2 pages with a description of 3 possible topics for the semester project. This needs to be uploaded to Canvas, further guidelines will be available. (5 points)
   2. Additionally, a 2-page peer review constructively criticizing the 3-topic proposal submitted by another class group should be uploaded on Canvas, further guidelines will be available. (5 points).
      Further discussion about the potential topics for the semester project is made with Alice and Sarah.
   3. Building upon the two previous assignments, each group will write a 1-page semester project proposal and upload it to Canvas. If the project proposal is submitted on time and the group satisfactorily defends their proposal, the group can obtain up to 5 points.
   4. Thereafter, based on eventual feedback and all previous assignments, each group will write a 1-page document with the description of the experimental design and upload it to Canvas. (Up to 5 points).
   5. Each group will write an 8-page semester project (also to be uploaded on Canvas).
   6.  Finally, each group has to present and defend the project at the end-of-semester Showcase. The written report and the presentation together count towards the grading of the semester project up to 30 points.

Minor funding is available for conducting the experiments for the semester projects.

The uploading to Canvas step is part of the completion of each task and deadline. 

It is expected that the distribution of work for the semester project is evenly split among the members of each group. Therefore, the individual grade of the semester project will be the same for all members. As a consequence, it is up to the members of each group to make sure that all the members contribute equally to the semester project and no free-riding occurs. If any group is having free-riding issues, group members should contact the instructors, and measures will be taken on a case-by-case basis.

4. Class presentations (10 out of 100 points): Each group will make 20-minute presentations, occurring throughout the semester. Groups will find a current “real life” unsolved/understudied problem (using news articles, magazines, blogs, papers, etc) that is related to the topic of the lecture of the day assigned to them. The presentation must emphasize what traditional economics would say about the problem and compare it to what behavioral economics has to say about the problem. Additionally, the presentation can include comments on the suggested solutions by both approaches, as well as include the pros and cons of each suggested solution. Finally, the presentation should give some recommendations to solve the problem.
5. Exam Second Half (15 out of 100 points): This exam is similar to the first-half exam, but covers material from the second part of the course. Any material covered in Lectures 7 through 10 is fair game for the exam. It is an open-book exam that will last 1.5 hours.

Components of Grading (summary):             

1. Exam First Half                                                       = 15 points                 
2. Exam Second Half                                                  = 15 points                  
3. Student Participation + experiments                   = 10 points               
4. Semester project:            
   4.1. 3-topics Proposal and Peer Review              = 10 points                
   4.2. Semester Project Proposal                            = 5 points                
   4.3. Experimental Design Proposal                      = 5  points            
   4.4. Semester Project - Presentation                   = 30 points                
5.  Class Presentations                                              = 10 points   

Total                                                                             = 100 points                 

 

Faculty                                                                         

Sarah Zaccagni

2023 -  Present     Assistant Professor at Aarhus University

2020 – 2023         Post-doctoral Fellow at University of Copenhagen

2016 - 2020         Ph.D. at Collegio Carlo Alberto and University of Turin

Website:       https://www.sarahzaccagni.com/      

Alice Pizzo

2026 -  Present    Assistant Professor at Copenhagen Business School

2022 – 2025        Post-doctoral Fellow at Copenhagen Business School

2018 –  2021       Ph.D at University of Copenhagen

Website:   https://www.alicepizzo.com/               

    

Academic Regulations  

Please make sure to read the Academic Regulations on the DIS website. There you will find regulations on: Course Enrollment and Grading  & Academic Expectations and Honor Code 

 

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