Behavioral Econometrics of Risk, Uncertainty, and Time Preference 2012
January 23, 2012 - January 27, 2012
Economics Building
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Deadline for applications is 15 July 2011
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 five 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.
- This workhop is intended to support the training of African researchers in world-class experimental economics research, and at the same time to facilitate research collaboration with leading behavioural and experimental economics researchers on African issues.
- Applicants must be registered postgraduate students, post-doctoral fellows or faculty members at African academic or research institutions. A background in basic statistics is required. Familiarity with STATA is an advantage, but workshop applicants who lack STATA training could apply to attend a STATA pre-course which will be run in the week preceding this workshop.