Course Syllabus

Behavioral Economics: Why We Decide the Way We Do

Semester & Location:	Summer 2026 - DIS Copenhagen
Type & Credits:	Elective Course - 3 credits
Major Disciplines:	Economics, Psychology
Prerequisite(s):	One course in intermediate or advanced microeconomics at university level.
Faculty Members:	Toke Fosgaard  & Jimmy Martínez-Correa - Contact via Canvas Inbox or tofo@dis.dk or jico@dis.dk
Time & Place:	TBD

Course Description

Behavioral Economics combines insights from psychology and economics to understand how people actually make decisions. In this course, we use experiments, case studies, and discussions to explore human biases in areas such as trust, cooperation, altruism, risk-taking, consumption, time management, and beliefs about the future. While grounded in economic theory and research, the course also emphasizes self-understanding: you will learn how these behavioral patterns apply to your own life and decisions. By analyzing real-life case studies and experimenting with your own behavior, you will gain tools to improve not only your economic and financial decisions but also your everyday choices.

Learning Objectives 

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

• Identify common behavioral biases and understand how they affect economic and everyday decisions.
• Recognize how psychology shapes consumption, financial, and social choices.
• Reflect on your own decision-making processes and identify the biases you are most susceptible to.
• Apply behavioral economics insights to make better personal, academic, and financial choices.
• Understand the tension between classical economics and behavioral economics, and how both can explain (or fail to explain) human behavior.
• Design and evaluate simple experiments and case studies to test behavioral hypotheses.
• Critically analyze real-world cases (from markets, consumption, and public policy) through the lens of behavioral economics.

Faculty                                                                         

Jimmy Martínez-Correa

2015 – Present   Associate Professor at Copenhagen Business School

2012 –  2015       Assistant Professor at Copenhagen Business School

2012 – Present   Fellow at the Center for the Economic Analysis of Risk, Georgia State University

2007 – 2012       PhD at Georgia State University

2005 – 2007       Chief Economist, Trade Association of Insurers (Colombia)

2003 – 2005       Junior Economist at the Department of Financial Stability, Central Bank (Colombia)

Web:                   Jimmy WebsiteLinks to an external site.

Toke Fosgaard

2023 -                    Associate professor at The Danish Technical University

2016 – Present     Associate professor at University of Copenhagen

2021-2022           Visiting professor at University of California, San Diego

Web:                      linkLinks to an external site.

 Links to an external site.

Readings

Please pick up the following textbooks from the DIS library during arrivals week:

John List: “The Voltage Effect” (VE)

Uri Gneezy "Mixed Signals" (eBook, found in Modules)

Lionel Page: Optimally Irrational (selected chapters, tentative)

These books are written in an accessible style and use real-life examples where behavioral economics and experiments help us understand puzzling phenomena. As you read, we encourage you to take notes on potential new ideas or open questions. These reflections may later serve as inspiration for your semester project.

In addition, several research papers for each lecture will be available on DIS Canvas. Most of them can also be found online.

 

Field Studies

Field studies are an integrated part of the course. They provide an opportunity to observe decision-making and behavioral patterns in real-world contexts outside the classroom. Examples may include visits to organizations applying behavioral insights, urban experiments in Copenhagen, or observational studies in public spaces. The goal is to connect theoretical concepts with lived behavior and to give you inspiration for your own semester project.

Guest Lecturers

Guest lectures bring in practitioners and researchers who apply behavioral economics in fields such as business, public policy, or finance. These sessions allow you to learn how behavioral insights are used outside academia and to engage directly with professionals working with experiments, nudges, and real-world applications of behavioral science.

Approach to teaching:

The course mixes theory from texts, case studies, research papers, and practical exercises in 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 to 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 also for conducting online experiments so please bring them to class.

Evaluation

Your work in this course is evaluated across four main components: a written exam, active participation and experiments, the semester project, and class presentations. Each part is designed to help you engage with behavioral economics both theoretically and practically.

Grading

1. Written Exam (30 out of 100 points): There will be a written take-home exam covering the required reading material.
2. Student participation + experiments (10 out of 100 points): This component covers active participation in class, performance in small assignments, in-class experiments, and field experiments to be run during the field trips. Furthermore, students will have the responsibility (under the instruction of the teacher) to run the classroom experiments. This will give students the opportunity to experience what it entails to run an experiment and accumulate experience in conducting experiments for their semester project, potentially. Students will coordinate with the instructors to find out which experiments they are responsible for. Participation is not to be confused with mere attendance during the semester. The instructors will make a qualitative judgment of your contribution, and improper use of computers in class can, for instance, affect this assessment.
3. Semester Project (50 out of 100 points):
   

   Project Framework:

   1. Behavioral Problem 
      Describe a behavioral problem people face in everyday life (e.g., procrastination, low savings, poor recycling habits).

   2. Behavioral Hurdles (theory link)
      Identify the psychological mechanisms (biases, heuristics, norms, framing effects, self-control issues, etc.) that prevent people from making “rational” or goal-consistent choices.

   3. Proposed Solution
      Propose a behavioral intervention (nudge, incentive, framing, reminder, default, etc.) and explain how it could help overcome the hurdles.

   4. Experiment 
      Design and carry out a small-scale experiment (classroom, online, or field-based in Copenhagen) to test your proposed solution. 

   5. Final Report (8 pages + Showcase Presentation)
      Present your findings, analyze whether the intervention worked, and reflect critically on limitations and scalability.

   Each student will be randomly assigned to a team of approximately 4 students. There are several milestones across the semester working towards the goal of the final report:
   1. Each group has to upload 2 pages with a description of 3 possible topics for the semester project. 
   2. Additionally, a 2-page peer review constructively criticizing the 3-topic proposal submitted by another class group should be uploaded (needs to be uploaded on canvas; further guidelines are available here).
      Discussions about potential topics for the semester project are made with Jimmy and Toke.

Delivering both the 3-topic proposal and the peer review is worth 5 points each, for a total of 10 points, only if both assignments are delivered on time.

1. Building upon the two previous assignments, each group will write a 1-page semester project proposal
   (to be uploaded on canvas).

If the project proposal is submitted on time and the group satisfactorily defends their proposal, the group can obtain up to 5 points.

Building upon feedback and all previous assignments, each group will write a 1-page document with the description of the experimental design(to be uploaded on canvas).

If the experimental design description is submitted on time and the group satisfactorily defends their proposal, the group can obtain up to 5 points.

1. Finally, each group will write an 8-page semester project (to be uploaded on Canvas).
   Finally, each group must present and defend their project at the end-of-semester Showcase. The written report and the presentation together count towards the grading of the semester project.

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

 

4. Class presentations (10 out of 100 points): Each group will deliver one 20-minute presentation throughout the course. Each group will have to 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. The presentation must emphasize what traditional economics would say about the problem and compare it to the perspective of behavioral economics on the same issue. Additionally, the presentation can include comments on the suggested solutions from both approaches, as well as the pros and cons of each proposed solution. Finally, the presentation should provide recommendations to address the problem. Students can contact the instructors for further information about the guidelines for the presentations.

Components of Grading (Summary):             

1. Written exam                                                         = 30 points                       
2. Student Participation + experiments                   = 10 points               
3. Semester project:            
   4.1. 3-topics Proposal and Peer Review              = 10 points                
   4.2. Semester Project Proposal                            = 5 points                
   4.3. Experimental protocol                                   = 5  points            
   4.4. Semester Project - Presentation                   = 30 points                
4.  Class Presentations                                              = 10 points   

Total                                                                             = 100 points           

Academic Regulations 

Please ensure that you read the Academic Regulations on the DIS website. There you will find regulations on:

• Course Enrollment and Grading
• Academic Expectations and Honor Code

 

DIS - Study Abroad in Scandinavia - www.DISabroad.org