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Behavioral economics in film: Insights for educators

Author

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  • Marie Briguglio

    (Department of Economics, University of Malta, Msida, Malta)

  • Charity-Joy Acchiardo

    (Department of Economics, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA)

  • Dirk Mateer

    (Department of Economics, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA)

  • Wayne Geerling

    (Department of Economics, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia)

Abstract

Behavioral economics is an increasingly prominent field within economics and we review the case for its incorporation into undergraduate Economics curricula. We argue that behavioral findings can inform the teaching template itself and (economics) education policy more generally. The pedagogical and behavioral literature informs us that learners are more likely to recall economic content when it is presented as a narrative than when it is couched in abstract models. Film is one of the most evolved forms of story-telling, and its use (along with other media) enables learners to master a concept more quickly. This paper presents a database of 30 short film and media scenes and three detailed lesson plans that may be used as jumping-off points for instructors who wish to incorporate behavioral economics concepts alongside the rational-agent model of economic behavior.

Suggested Citation

  • Marie Briguglio & Charity-Joy Acchiardo & Dirk Mateer & Wayne Geerling, 2020. "Behavioral economics in film: Insights for educators," Journal of Behavioral Economics for Policy, Society for the Advancement of Behavioral Economics (SABE), vol. 4(1), pages 17-28, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:beh:jbepv1:v:4:y:2020:i:1:p:17-28
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    Cited by:

    1. Picault, Julien, 2021. "Structure, Flexibility, and Consistency: A Dynamic Learning Approach for an Online Asynchronous Course," Applied Economics Teaching Resources (AETR), Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 3(4), October.
    2. Wayne Geerling & Kristofer Nagy & Elaine Rhee & Jadrian Wooten, 2021. "Using K-Pop to Teach Indifference Curve Analysis, Behavioral Economics and Game Theory," Monash Economics Working Papers 2021-18, Monash University, Department of Economics.
    3. Wayne Geerling & Kristofer Nagy & Elaine Rhee & Nicola Thomas & Jadrian Wooten, 2023. "Using Squid Game to Teach Game Theory," Journal of Economics Teaching, Journal of Economics Teaching, vol. 8(1), pages 47-63, January.
    4. Mustofa, Rochman Hadi & Pramudita, Dias Aziz & Atmono, Dwi & Priyankara, Rasika & Asmawan, Mochammad Chairil & Rahmattullah, Muhammad & Mudrikah, Saringatun & Pamungkas, Leonny Noviyana Sakti, 2022. "Exploring educational students acceptance of using movies as economics learning media: PLS-SEM analysis," International Review of Economics Education, Elsevier, vol. 39(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    behavioral economics; teaching; pedagogy; undergraduate; policy; media;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • A12 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Relation of Economics to Other Disciplines
    • A20 - General Economics and Teaching - - Economic Education and Teaching of Economics - - - General
    • A22 - General Economics and Teaching - - Economic Education and Teaching of Economics - - - Undergraduate
    • D90 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - General
    • G40 - Financial Economics - - Behavioral Finance - - - General

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