1-Day Online Workshop

10 August  2021

The main objective of this 5-hours course is to present theoretical foundations about Behavioural and Experimental Methods and to train participants on the practical tools to design behavioral intervention frameworks in STATA.

More generally, the workshop prioritizes three main objectives for participants: (i) introduce theoretical foundations on Behavioral and Experimental methods, (ii) introduce real-life behavioral interventions using experimental techniques guided by theory, and (iii) acquire practical coding skills in the design and econometric analysis of these interventions (i.e. STATA). In sum, the workshop will review theoretical as well as practical procedures and commands on descriptive and treatment analysis.

Part One (8-10 AM-CET) : Theoretical Fundamentals /  2.5 Hours

1. Historical development
2. Differences between classical and behavioral theory
3. Areas of application
4. Relevance in modern public policies

5. Choices and Preferences
Loss aversion, time inconsistency, social norms, reciprocity, status quo, etc.
6. Beliefs
Overconfidence, optimism bias, availability bias, representativity, etc.

1. What is Nudging?
2. Toolkit of instruments
Engagement Mechanisms, Default Options ( defaults ), Social Comparison (descriptive and prescriptive), Reminders, Framing

3. Methodological note
Framework on definition, diagnosis, design, and evaluation to implement behavioral interventions
4. Practical exercise of case-study
• Real-life behavioral intervention, such as the evaluation of whether a system of message reminders can improve the treatment against life-threatening diseases
• Exploration of data: outcome variables, patient-level and household characteristics, and descriptive results
• Resolution of exercise in STATA: showcasing commands for balancing, descriptive treatment analysis, and econometric robustness.

5. Q&A and concluding remarks

Benefits