Dr Grace Lordan OLD.M.2.26

This course is available on the MSc in Behavioural Science. This course is available as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit.

Priority is given to students applying in the following order: students on the MSc in Behavioural Science, students in the department of Psychology and Behavioural Science and students in the wider school.

The course provides the opportunity for students to learn how the tools of behavioural science can help to improve the outcomes of the firm. Specifically, behavioural science lessons for search and hiring, diversity and inclusion, firm culture, conduct and high stakes decision making are covered. Each topic starts with equipping students with the predictions from traditional economic models. We then proceed to consider the individual biases which distort the decision making process, and how this distorts outcomes. We consider interventions and solutions to these problems with a specific emphasis on : 1. is there a problem, 2. menu of solutions for the problem 3. quantifying if the solutions worked.

10 hours of lectures and 15 hours of seminars in the LT.

Students will have a reading week during week 6.

Students will be expected to produce 1 case study in the LT.

Case study with short questions that matches the style of the summative assessment

Bertrand Marrianne and Duflo Ester. Field Experiments on Discrimination. in Handbook of Economic

Field Experiments. Volume 1, pages 309 - 393 2017.

MLA: Gneezy, Uri, Kenneth L. Leonard, and John A. List. "Gender differences in competition: Evidence from a

matrilineal and a patriarchal society." Econometrica 77.5 (2009): 1637-1664.

Johnston, David W. and Lordan, Grace (2016) Racial prejudice and labour market penalties during

economic downturns European Economic Review, 84. 57-75

Lordan, Grace and Pischke, Jorn-Steffen (2016) Does Rosie like riveting? Male and female occupational choices

NBER working paper, 22495. National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, USA.

Kandasamy, Narayanan, et al. "Cortisol shifts financial risk preferences." Proceedings of the National Academy

of Sciences 111.9 (2014): 3608-3613.

Shiller, Robert J. Finance and the Good Society, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2012.

Fama, Eugene, “Market Efficiency, Long-Term Returns, and Behavioral Finance,” Journal of Financial

Economics.

Coursework (100%, 4000 words) in the ST.

Two case studies with short questions