ECON2007 Behavioural Economics

The aim of this assessment worth 30% is to build information and communication skills in behavioural economics and apply behavioural concepts taught in the first half of this unit (Modules 1 to 5) to selected social issues/themes.

Look at what Behavioural Economics Team of the Australian Government (BETA) do: BETA’s stated mission is to use behavioural economics to enrich government policies and services (https://behaviouraleconomics.pmc.gov.au/blog/more-nudges-value-behavioural-economics-regulation).

Imagine you are an intern at BETA and your supervisor asks you to contribute a short chapter (1500 to 1800 words), which will target a range of social issues broadly following the format and style of ‘Richer Veins’ - publication is found here:

https://behaviouraleconomics.pmc.gov.au/sites/default/files/resources/richer-veins.pdf.

Your job is to investigate the decisions people make, comparing traditional economics (TE) with the behavioural economics (BE) concepts from ECON2007 S2 2023, for one (1) of the following five (5) critical social issues/themes affecting modern-day Australians:

1. Retirement Savings - Early Release to Superannuation in the COVID-19 Pandemic (March 2020 to late 2021)
2. Labour Market - Introduction of and Removal of JobKeeper in the COVID-19 Pandemic (March 2020 to late 2021)
3. Social Welfare - Introduction of and Removal of Robodebt (mid 2015 to late 2019 to present)
4. Housing Market - The Behaviour of Buyers and Sellers of Houses (March 2020 to present)
5. Public Health - Vaping (e-cigs) and Policy Responses aimed at its Reduction (2016 to present)

The first three issues/themes specifically relate to the regulatory policy impacts on people’s income. The last two issues/themes relate to regulatory policy impacts on investment and consumption behaviour. Choose the topic that sparks your curiosity and interests you.

Your chapter must have at least a 3/4 (75%) BE angle from this ECON2007 unit and your discussion must link to the govt. policy response to that issue. (You are permitted to draw upon a concept from the BF modules if you think it’s pertinent). You need to relate to two or more BE concepts (from two or more modules) to the issue at hand. In your chapter, ensure that you include some high-quality research/data evidence on your issue.

Marking Criteria (out of 30):

Clarity and accuracy of description of relevant economic concepts /5

Evidence of research into the issue (current/historical data on issue and relevant research evidence) /10 Quality of transcript and application of behavioural concepts to the issue and the policy response /10 Policy implications from the behavioural insights /5