6th Summer School in Behavioral Economics and Experimental Research: Institutions and Behavior

June 17-22, 2018

Christian Zehnder

Prof. Holger Herz, UNIFR

Prof. Christian Zehnder, UNIL

 Prof. Jean-Robert Tyran (University of Vienna)

Prof. Jordi Brandts (Barcelona Graduate School of Economics)

Prof. Martin Huber (University of Fribourg)

Jean-Robert Tyran and Jordi Brandts are two leading experts in behavioral and experimental economics. Jean-Robert Tyran is professor of public economics at the University of Vienna. In his research he mainly investigates how institutions like markets and democracy are shaped by bounded rationality and social preferences. Jordi Brandts is a research professor at the Barcelona Graduate School of Economics. His research is experimental in areas such as the study of cooperation, organizational economics, industrial organizational and market analysis, conflict and the effects of communication on strategic interaction. Jean-Robert and Jordi will therefore cover the topic-related part of the summer school.

Martin Huber is professor at the University of Fribourg and an expert in econometrics and empirical methodology. He will mainly cover the methodological part of the summer school. In his lecture, he will talk about developments in causal mediation analysis for decomposing the causal effect of an intervention, such as an experimental treatment, into various mechanisms, or direct and indirect treatment effects. The lecture will cover the identification of such direct and indirect treatment effects based on observed covariates and/or instrumental variables and also discuss empirical applications.

Kandersteg, hôtel Alfa Soleil

The summer school will take place in Kandersteg in the canton of Bern.

The summer school will start on Monday, June 18 (arrival on Sunday evening) and will end on Friday, June 22 (at 3pm at the latest). There will be lectures on Monday morning, Monday afternoon, Tuesday morning, Tuesday afternoon and Thursday morning. Parts of Monday afternoon, parts of Tuesday afternoon and Thursday afternoon will be dedicated to group work and projects. During the afternoons the lecturers and organizers are always available for discussions and office hours. There will also be dedicated slots for discussion of personal projects (e.g. dissertation papers) with the speakers. Friday will be reserved for the presentation of group projects developed during the week.

On Wednesday we will go hiking. We will offer several possibilities ranging from easy, shorter walks up to a full-day hiking tour. Please bring your hiking equipment with you (in particular, hiking or trekking shoes and a rain jacket). If you do not like hiking at all, Kandersteg also offers other activities that you can engage in on this day.

For students of the CUSO universities (Geneva, Lausanne, Neuchâtel, and Fribourg), IHEID and the University of Bern, accommodation and meals are covered by the CUSO. Travel expenses will be reimbursed based on a second-class half-fare return Swiss rail ticket between the university to which the student is attached and the location of the activity. This is equally valid for travel undertaken in a private car.

Detailed information on the management directives can be found at:

www.cuso.ch

The summer school is open to all PhD students in economics, management, psychology and the neurosciences.

The application deadline is May 14, 2018.

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