This is an advanced level theory course for research-career oriented master students (research master) and PhD students at Helsinki Graduate School of Economics (Aalto University & Hanken & University of Helsinki). The course studies individual economic decision making from the perspective of formal mathematical decision theory which is a very central building block of microeconomic theory. It rigorously defines the concepts of consistent choice, rational preferences, utility maximization, and studies their connections. It applies these concepts to the rational theory of consumer choice and studies its implications for observed choice patterns. The formal toolkit of decision theory is also extended and applied to model decision making under uncertainty. The concept of risk preference is defined and studied. Theoretical implications for the predicted choice patterns are studied. The participants also participate decision making experiments. They examine experimental and observational data to understand to which extent observed data complies with the predictions of the theories, and how models can be extended to allow for better explaining the data at a cost of making the theory more complex.
Doctoral students can also take this course.
- Teacher: Marco Lambrecht
- Teacher: Topi Miettinen