Behavioral economics in film : insights for educators

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.