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    • Behavioral Economics

    Behavioral Economics Courses Online

    Explore behavioral economics to understand how psychological factors influence economic decisions. Learn about biases, heuristics, and consumer behavior.

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    Explore the Behavioral Economics Course Catalog

    • Status: Free
      Free
      Y

      Yale University

      Les médias numériques pour améliorer les résultats de santé

      Skills you'll gain: Media and Communications, Digital Communications, Behavioral Health, Persuasive Communication, Program Evaluation, Public Health, Public Health and Disease Prevention, Facebook, User Centered Design

      Intermediate · Course · 1 - 3 Months

    • U

      University of Minnesota

      Social Determinants of Health: Vulnerable Populations

      Skills you'll gain: Health Disparities, Health Equity, Maternal Health, Statistical Analysis, Statistical Software, Box Plots, Economics, Policy, and Social Studies, Health Policy, Social Justice, Public Health and Disease Prevention, Child Health, Socioeconomics, Family Medicine, Statistical Hypothesis Testing, Public Health, Diversity Awareness, Policy Analysis

      Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months

    • U

      University of Minnesota

      Social Determinants of Health: Health Care Systems

      Skills you'll gain: Health Equity, Health Disparities, Health Systems, Public Health, Healthcare Ethics, Public Health and Disease Prevention, Health Policy, Data Analysis, Community Health, Data Ethics, Correlation Analysis, Patient Education and Support, Heat Maps, Mental and Behavioral Health, Trauma Care, Mental Health, Socioeconomics

      Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months

    • A

      Alfaisal University | KLD

      الاقتصاد الجزئي: قوة الأسواق | Microeconomics

      Skills you'll gain: Supply And Demand, Market Dynamics, Economics, Market Analysis, Market Data, Public Policies, Consumer Behaviour, Cost Benefit Analysis, Policty Analysis, Research, and Development, Price Negotiation, Decision Making

      Beginner · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks

    • U

      Università Bocconi

      Financing the development and evolution of infrastructure

      Skills you'll gain: Project Finance, Environmental Social And Corporate Governance (ESG), Investments, Contract Management, Risk Mitigation, Finance, Corporate Finance, Risk Management, Economics, Stakeholder Management

      Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months

    • Status: New
      New
      I

      Interactive Brokers

      Sector Investing

      Skills you'll gain: Investments, Portfolio Management, Risk Management, Equities, Securities Trading, Market Trend, Performance Analysis, Stock Rotation, Business Economics, Market Dynamics, Market Analysis

      Beginner · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks

    • Status: Free
      Free
      N

      National Taiwan University

      大學之理念 (The Idea of a University)

      Skills you'll gain: Higher Education, Political Sciences, Education and Training, International Relations, Economics, Social Sciences, World History, Personal Development, Policy Analysis, Governance, Cultural Diversity, Resource Allocation, Self-Awareness

      Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months

    • P

      PepsiCo

      Water Security & Stewardship

      Skills you'll gain: Water Resources, Corporate Sustainability, Stakeholder Engagement, Environmental Laws, Natural Resource Management, Environment and Resource Management, Environmental Resource Management, Governance, Environmental Social And Corporate Governance (ESG), Supply Chain Management, Environmental Engineering, Supply Chain, Civil Engineering, Economics

      Beginner · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks

    • U

      University of Colorado Boulder

      When to Regulate? The Digital Divide and Net Neutrality

      Skills you'll gain: Policy Development, Policy Analysis, General Networking, Public Policies, Network Infrastructure, Socioeconomics, Economics, Telecommunications, Regulation and Legal Compliance

      Build toward a degree

      Beginner · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks

    • Status: Free
      Free
      Y

      Yale University

      استخدام الوسائط الرقمية لتعزيز النتائج الصحية

      Skills you'll gain: Media and Communications, Digital Communications, Behavioral Health, Program Evaluation, Persuasive Communication, Public Health, Instagram, Facebook, Human Centered Design, Survey Creation, Psychology

      Intermediate · Course · 1 - 3 Months

    • U

      University of Colorado Boulder

      Baseball and Americanism

      Skills you'll gain: Social Studies, Culture, Economics, International Relations, Socioeconomics, Political Sciences

      Beginner · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks

    • J

      Johns Hopkins University

      Introduction to Social Computing

      Skills you'll gain: Data Ethics, Behavioral Economics, Analytics, Network Analysis, Game Design, Social Sciences, Sociology, Artificial Intelligence, Systems Thinking, Research, Usability, Data Collection, Machine Learning, Psychology

      Intermediate · Course · 1 - 3 Months

    Behavioral Economics learners also search

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    In summary, here are 10 of our most popular behavioral economics courses

    • Les médias numériques pour améliorer les résultats de santé: Yale University
    • Social Determinants of Health: Vulnerable Populations: University of Minnesota
    • Social Determinants of Health: Health Care Systems: University of Minnesota
    • الاقتصاد الجزئي: قوة الأسواق | Microeconomics: Alfaisal University | KLD
    • Financing the development and evolution of infrastructure: Università Bocconi
    • Sector Investing: Interactive Brokers
    • 大學之理念 (The Idea of a University): National Taiwan University
    • Water Security & Stewardship: PepsiCo
    • When to Regulate? The Digital Divide and Net Neutrality: University of Colorado Boulder
    • استخدام الوسائط الرقمية لتعزيز النتائج الصحية: Yale University

    Skills you can learn in Finance

    Investment (23)
    Market (economics) (20)
    Stock (18)
    Financial Statement (14)
    Financial Accounting (13)
    Modeling (13)
    Corporate Finance (11)
    Financial Analysis (11)
    Trading (11)
    Evaluation (10)
    Financial Markets (10)
    Pricing (10)

    Frequently Asked Questions about Behavioral Economics

    Richard Thaler, the Nobel Prize-winning economist who is considered the founder of this influential field, defined behavioral economics as “the combination of psychology and economics that investigates what happens in markets in which some of the agents display human limitations and complications.” Whereas traditional economics (known as the “standard economic model”) assumes that people are rational actors whose decision-making in the market is based purely on calculations of costs and benefits in pursuing one’s preferences, behavioral economics identifies important ways that this theory is challenged in reality by cognitive biases.

    For example, individuals often lack the willpower to make choices in their long-run interest, even if they rationally understand the costs. People also often make altruistic sacrifices to help others, in contrast to purely rational actors that pursue only self-interest. These types of insights from psychology have been deepened in recent years by bringing in advances in our understanding of how the biology of the brain works, creating the closely related subfield of neuroeconomics.

    These insights may seem like common sense, but they have important implications for business. Behavioral finance has helped explain how the stock market is influenced by biases such as “loss aversion,” which leads investors to fear losing money more than they value gains. Consumer neuroscience has yielded marketing insights on how memorable branding builds associations in the brain that impact purchasing decisions.

    Behavioral economics and related fields can seem to some like an effort to “hack” the human mind for financial gain, particularly when used in marketing. However, leading theorists in this field such as Thaler have demonstrated that this experimental, science-based approach to economics can also help policymakers come up with policy interventions to “nudge” people towards making better long-term decisions such as eating healthier food and saving more of their money.‎

    A background in behavioral economics can give you an edge in many types of business and marketing careers, as it helps deepen your understanding of the biases that influence the choices of other investors and consumers - as well as your own economic decision-making. This field is also useful for public policy careers, as accounting for the real-world insights of behavioral economics in policymaking can help make legislation and regulation more effective in achieving its goals.

    If you want to dive deeper into this influential field and contribute to its fast-growing body of research, you can become an economist yourself. This career path typically requires an advanced degree such as a masters or even a PhD, but it can lead to work that is high paying as well as intellectually rewarding. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, economists earned a median wage of $105,020 per year in 2019, and these jobs are expected to grow faster than the average of the overall economy.‎

    Absolutely, Coursera offers courses in behavioral economics, behavioral finance, neuroeconomics, and related fields in business as well as psychology. By learning online, you can learn about behavioral economics topics remotely from great schools like Duke University and Copenhagen Business School at a significantly lower price than on-campus students.

    And, while your cognitive biases may predispose you to think that a lower price means lower quality, learners on Coursera get the same course materials and credits as on-campus counterparts, along with video lectures and live virtual office hours and collaborative projects. That means you don’t have to sacrifice the quality of your education to learn online, making this a very economically rational choice indeed.‎

    The skills and experience you might need to have before starting to learn about behavioral economics include an understanding of taxation, finance theory, and behavioral science. Work experience in product management or client management may be useful. Other skills include data analysis skills, such as interpreting data and statistical analysis. Some additional coursework in psychology can be helpful, especially classes about cognitive psychology or neuropsychology. Courses that include experimental design, statistical analysis, and programming languages like SQL can be advantageous. You also may find it beneficial to learn about brain function and the parts that play a role in the decision-making process.‎

    The people best suited for roles in behavioral economics are individuals who are passionate about understanding why people make economic decisions. They typically like to observe what others do, note trends in behavior, and develop hypotheses about why it’s happening. Behavior economists often enjoy applying their knowledge of experimental design to measure consumer behavior that organizations can use to inform decision making. For example, a company might want to know which features of a product are most important to its customers or why one particular model of a product does not sell as well as others.‎

    Learning behavioral economics might be right for you if you're interested in applied psychology and topics like game theory, ostrich effect, and anchoring bias. You may find that you like learning behavioral economics if you enjoy setting up experiments to identify why people make economic decisions and sharing your insights with companies and other groups like marketers and product managers who want to put their products in the hands of as many consumers as possible. Working as a behavioral economist may interest you if you enjoy working with data and applying your insights to develop policies and strategies that align with an organization’s mission, values, and financial goals.‎

    Online Behavioral Economics courses offer a convenient and flexible way to enhance your existing knowledge or learn new Behavioral Economics skills. With a wide range of Behavioral Economics classes, you can conveniently learn at your own pace to advance your Behavioral Economics career skills.‎

    When looking to enhance your workforce's skills in Behavioral Economics, it's crucial to select a course that aligns with their current abilities and learning objectives. Our Skills Dashboard is an invaluable tool for identifying skill gaps and choosing the most appropriate course for effective upskilling. For a comprehensive understanding of how our courses can benefit your employees, explore the enterprise solutions we offer. Discover more about our tailored programs at Coursera for Business here.‎

    This FAQ content has been made available for informational purposes only. Learners are advised to conduct additional research to ensure that courses and other credentials pursued meet their personal, professional, and financial goals.

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