Game theory, one of the most widely used mathematical tools in economics and the social sciences, builds on a foundation of strong assumptions about agent's preferences and how agents make decisions.
Two decades of work by experimental economists has cast serious doubts on these assumptions. Theorists and experimenters have responded by developing new theories that incorporate behavioural elements. The goal of this course is to familiarize you with research related to some of the most important topics of current research in behavioural game theory and to help you start thinking about potential research projects in this area. Topics we will cover include lie and guilt aversion, bounded rationality, infinitely repeated games, and coordination games.
We will stress understanding how the various papers, both old and new, relate to current topics of research. The main emphasis of the course will be on experiments related to behavioural game theory. We will also go through some theory, but only to the degree that understanding the theory is necessary to understanding the experimental literature.
Due to the ongoing pandemic, the course will be held online via Zoom, and we will attempt to make it as interactive as possible. The class will feature a mixture of live lectures and group discussion. You will be working in groups to develop and present a research idea.
