This is an archived handbook for a previous year. The current undergraduate and postgraduate handbooks can be viewed using the links above.
Postgraduate Handbook 2019-2020 (archived)
Module BUSI46I15: Behavioural Economics and Finance (Full-Time)
Department: Management and Marketing
BUSI46I15: Behavioural Economics and Finance (Full-Time)
| Type | Level | Credits | Availability | Module Cap | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open | 4 | 15 | Available in 2019/2020 | Durham |
Pre-requisites
- None.
Corequisites
- None.
Excluded Combinations
- None
Aims
- To develop advanced knowledge of decision making under uncertainty and over time, and the skills to contribute to discussions of behavioural economics and finance at senior management and board level.
Content
- Bidding in auctions and the winner’s curse
- Willingness to pay and endowment effects
- Elicitation and identification of risk preferences
- Belief elicitation and prediction markets
- Planning horizons and investment behaviour
- Multivariate risk aversion and insurance decisions
Learning Outcomes
Subject-specific Knowledge
- Upon completion of the module students will have acquired:
- a comprehensive and detailed knowledge of economic and financial decision making
- an understanding of, and capacity to improve, their own decision making processes in economics and finance
- insight into the motives and modes of behaviour among other market participants as well as colleagues and employees
Subject-specific Skills
- Upon completion of the module, students will be able to:
- Identify and evaluate decision making under uncertainty
- Identify and evaluate decision making over delayed outcomes
- Devise practical methods to elicit individual and group preferences over uncertain and delayed outcomes
- Critically assess financial risk management
- Critically evaluate bidding behaviour in auctions
Key Skills
- Written communication skills
- Planning, organisational and time management skills
- Problem solving and analytical skills
- Computer literacy
Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module
- Learning outcomes will be met through a combination of lectures, group work, classroom experiments and discussion, supported by guided reading. The written assignment, in the form of an essay, will test students’ understanding of concepts in behavioural economics and finance, and their ability to use these concepts in relation to particular decision problems.
Teaching Methods and Learning Hours
| Activity | Number | Frequency | Duration | Total Hours | Attendance Monitored |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Workshops (a combination of taught input, groupwork, case studies and discussion), timetabled in blocks | 28 | Yes | |||
| Preparation and reading | 122 | ||||
| Total | 150 | ||||
Summative Assessment
| Component | Component Weighting | Element | Length/Duration | Element Weighting | Resit Opportunity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Written Assignment | 100% | Essay | 4000 words | 100% | Same |
Formative Assessment
Students will receive feedback on their contributions to class and group discussions.
Students who do not attend monitored activities shown under Teaching Methods
and Learning Hours, or who fail to complete the summative or formative
assessment(s) specified above, may be subject to the Academic Progress
procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be
required to leave the University.