Behavioural Econometrics of Risk and Time Preference 2013
January 28, 2013 - February 2, 2013
Economics Building
A 6-Day workshop at the University of Cape Town on the Behavioural Econometrics of Risk, Uncertainty and Time Preference
Taught by Professors Glenn Harrison (Georgia State University), Elisabet Rutstrom (Georgia State University), and Morten Lau (Durham University)
Among the most important variables affecting outcomes in microeconomic development initiatives among vulnerable groups are attitudes to risk and attitudes to the cost of waiting. The evaluation of any proposed policy to help people respond to uncertainty should take into account the aversion that some may have to risk, the subjective beliefs about risk, the manner in which risk-coping strategies might confound expectations of planners and agencies about future outcomes, and the extent to which intended beneficiaries of programs are able and willing to bear costs of waiting. Many of the problems of development in Africa can be attributed, in large part, to (reasonable) aversion to risk, fear of losses, and unwillingness to invest in projects that have higher returns but over longer horizons. Yet, until now, the skills to empirically measure and test the effects of risk and uncertainty on development outcomes have not been generally available to African scholars.
The Research Unit in Behavioural Economics and Neuroeconomics (RUBEN) at the University of Cape Town and the Center for the Economic Analysis of Risk (CEAR) at Georgia State University will be jointly hosting a six day training workshop on cutting edge empirical methods used in estimating individual attitudes towards risk and time. The primary theme of the workshop is the need for tight connections between theory, experimental design, and econometric method.
For more information on RUBEN see http://www.ruben.uct.ac.za
