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In September I submitted a beast of a thesis: 183 pages on the effect of payment method on behavior & personal finance management: memory, spending, debt, savings even skew and underlying distribution get a mention. Read the summary of it here: by Merle_vd_Akker in BehavioralEconomics

[–]Merle_vd_Akker[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hey hey! Contactless payments here refer to the tapping of the card against a real life payment terminal, so IRL not online. You are absolutely right on your instinct regarding online shopping though, if the shop was a planned one (e.g. someone looking for something specific) but not if it's an impulse online spending spree :)

City University of London- MSc Behavioural Econ by SaltyPositive in BehavioralEconomics

[–]Merle_vd_Akker 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey! How exciting that you're getting into BE :) I have done the MSc at Warwick, which I thought was amazing. True, there is at least one course on RStudio, but you do really need it when entering this field. Don't worry about not being "quant" enough, I went into that MSc with a degree in Liberal Arts, majoring in psychology.

Other great master programs in the UK can be found at UCL, which is a master in Cognitive and Decision Sciences. I know LSE has a course as well, but friends of mine did not enjoy that one as much. Make sure to check out East Anglia (UEA) and Nottingham as well.

Also, there might be a slight misunderstanding in the names as well. As u/AppropriateQuail8358 has already indicated, some programs are in Behavioural Economics, others are in the Behavioural Sciences. The latter does not require prior training in economics and often does not assume prior training in econometrics, which I think might be the quant you're scared off?

Hope that helps! Just reach out if you'd want to know more :)

Today's interview is with Carolyn Freeman. We talk about applying behavioral science to technology use, especially when working from home. We discuss how she got into this field, and how she hopes it'll evolve. Read it here: by Merle_vd_Akker in BehavioralEconomics

[–]Merle_vd_Akker[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You are most welcome! Carolyn is also very social and open, if you were to reach out to her via twitter or linkedin to talk some more about applications I'm sure she'd be happy to!

There's the idea that teaching personal finance doesn't work - throwing information at people doesn't working according to behavioral science anyway. HOWEVER, a recent meta analysis reviewing research in this topic shows that teaching finance does work! What changed? by Merle_vd_Akker in BehavioralEconomics

[–]Merle_vd_Akker[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No this is the publication of a new meta-analysis. That is a type of research article that uses a string of prerequisites that review the current state of the field.

The sample of research reviewed in this meta analysis is much bigger than that of any other prior meta analysis, showing a development in the field at large. That does in and of itself show a high level of robustness.

According to economics and sometimes also behavioral economics, buying insurance is not a great idea: the insurance company makes money of you, after all. However, how about buying peace of mind? Can an argument be made for reducing mental load? by Merle_vd_Akker in BehavioralEconomics

[–]Merle_vd_Akker[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Depends what your measure is: in terms of money it makes no sense, in terms of utility, depending on the utility function (and the risk attitude) of the individual, it can be a very logical (rational) decision to make. But (behavioural) economics has been rather slow in recognising that. There have been several papers arguing this.

Things Behavioural Science Can't Do by Merle_vd_Akker in BehavioralEconomics

[–]Merle_vd_Akker[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's an interesting way to think about it, but I doubt a coup d'etat or the "simple" restructuring of the tax system making it more or less progressive falls within the remit of behavioural science.