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In this exciting experience, Harrison Rolls challenges the myth that economics is all about numbers and looks instead at behavioural and experimental economics. In episode one, Harrison discusses how economists think about human decision-making and why simplified models are used to understand behaviour. He also explores how experiments and behavioural insights help economists test ideas and improve their understanding of the real world. In episode two, Harrison explores where behavioural economics appears in everyday life, from shopping choices to work decisions and public policy. He also explains how human evolution and attitudes towards risk help economists understand why people often behave in ways that go beyond simple self-interest. Harrison then outlines a mini case study that contextualises human behaviour in action. In episode three, Harrison introduces experimental economics and explains how economists design experiments to study real decision-making. He also explores how behavioural biases and economic games help researchers understand cooperation, fairness, and strategic behaviour in the real world. In the final episode, Harrison brings together everything you’ve learned so far, from traditional economic models to behavioural insights and experiments. He also explains how these ideas link to university-style learning and why understanding real human behaviour is essential for the future of economics. Harrison then sets a real-world activity that asks you to consider behavioural economics within government policies.
Dr Harrison RollsLancaster UniversityEconomics
All episodes
1. An introduction to behavioural and experimental economics
2. Behavioural economics in practice
3. Experimental economics in practice
4. Activity: understanding behaviour in healthy eating
About the university
Lancaster University
Lancaster is a highly ranked UK university set on a beautiful 578-acre parkland campus in north-west England. Here, you’ll learn from leading academics in an inspiring, research-led environment. Our degrees are designed with employability in mind, and our careers service is there to support you, even after graduation. We’re home to a diverse, close-knit community of students and staff from over 120 countries. We’re proud to be one of a handful of collegiate universities in the UK, giving you support, a ready-made community, and a feeling of belonging from the moment you arrive.
Meet the academic
Dr Harrison Rolls
Harrison Rolls is a lecturer in Economics at Lancaster University. Harrison also completed his undergraduate degree, masters, and PhD at Lancaster University! Whilst doing his PhD, Harrison was researching Behavioural and Experimental Economics focusing on risk and time. Since then, Harrison has become more interested in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) to help better understand students and how we can make learning more accessible for them.
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