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Course title |
Social Service Delivery: Behavioral Economics and Implementation Science |
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Semester |
111-2 |
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Designated for |
COLLEGE OF SOCIAL SCIENCES THE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL WORK |
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Instructor |
WANG JULIA SHU-HUAH |
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Curriculum Number |
SW5044 |
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Curriculum Identity Number |
330EU0610 |
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Class |
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Credits |
3.0 |
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Full/Half
Yr. |
Half |
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Required/
Elective |
Elective |
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Time |
Tuesday 2,3,4(9:10~12:10) |
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Remarks |
Restriction: juniors and beyond
The upper limit of the number of students: 25.
The upper limit of the number of non-majors: 10. |
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Course introduction video |
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Table of Core Capabilities and Curriculum Planning |
Table of Core Capabilities and Curriculum Planning |
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Course Syllabus
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Please respect the intellectual property rights of others and do not copy any of the course information without permission
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Course Description |
This course will examine the relationship between behavioral economics, implementation science, and social service delivery. Individuals frequently make decisions that systematically depart from the predictions of standard economic models based on rational behavior assumptions. Behavioral economics attempts to integrate the understanding of the psychology of human behavior into policy implementation. Implementation science is a school of knowledge that can integrate theory and practice into service delivery. The course will review the major themes of behavioral economics and implementation science and discuss the applications for social work, social services, and social policies. |
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Course Objective |
• Enable students interested in social services and social policies to learn the relevant knowledge of behavioral economics and implementation science
• Enable students interested in promoting social change to integrate knowledge of behavioral economics and implementation science in the design, administration and evaluation of social services and social policies |
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Course Requirement |
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Student Workload (expected study time outside of class per week) |
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Office Hours |
Note: Tuesdays after class or by appointment |
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References |
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Designated reading |
Congdon, W. J., Kling, J. R., & Mullainathan, S. (2011). Policy and choice: Public finance through the lens of behavioral economics. Brookings Institution Press. (Available free online)
Thaler, R. H., & Sunstein, C. R. (2022). Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness. Yale University Press.
Brownson, R. C., Colditz, G. A., & Proctor, E. K. (Eds.). (2017). Dissemination and implementation research in health: translating science to practice. Oxford University Press. |
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Grading |
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No. |
Item |
% |
Explanations for the conditions |
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1. |
Small group presentation on heuristics and bias |
5% |
Each group will present on one “heuristic or bias”. (1) Describe the bias and (2) present evidence on how humans have exhibited this behavior (Feel free to test the classmates to see how they behave). (3) Additionally, present a couple of examples of how this could impact behavior outside of the lab. Each presentation should be 5-7 minutes in duration.
• Availability heuristic
• Representativeness heuristic
• Anchoring and Adjustment
• Overconfidence
• Sunk Cost Fallacy
• Confirmation Bias
• Projection Bias |
2. |
Empirical example presentation |
15% |
Students will present one to two empirical papers in class during the semester. The presentation will be for 10 minutes, covering the gist of the study (research question(s), theoretical background and literature review, methods and findings) and raising two discussion questions at the end of the presentation. The presenting student should upload the powerpoint file to NTU COOL before class. |
3. |
Participation |
30% |
Participate in discussions and exercises in class. |
4. |
Final Paper (Written Paper and Oral Presentation) |
50% |
Each student will select a topic of your choice, identify and describe a policy/social service problem, apply behavioural economic concepts, and propose policy solutions. Students will present their final paper in class (20 minutes) and submit the written version (5-page) via NTU Cool. The outline of the paper is as follows.
• Identify and describe a policy/social service issue/problem
• Assess the behavioral tendencies that contribute to this issue/problem
• Select and apply behavioral economic concepts to propose policy solutions
• Discuss the caution/limitation of the application
Oral presentation: 25%
Written paper: 25% |
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Adjustment methods for students |
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Teaching methods |
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Assignment submission methods |
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Exam methods |
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Others |
Negotiated by both teachers and students |
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Week |
Date |
Topic |
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Week 1 |
2/21 |
• Introduction to the class
• Introduction to behavioural economics |
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Week 2 |
2/28 |
No Class - Holiday |
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Week 3 |
3/7 |
• Present bias and procrastination
• Temptation and commitment |
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Week 4 |
3/14 |
• Heuristic and bias presentations
• Loss aversion, endowment effect, and status quo bias |
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Week 5 |
3/21 |
• Human inertia, choice overload, and defaults
• Getting things done by active choice, planning reminders |
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Week 6 |
3/28 |
• Preferences and choice architecture
• Social comparison |
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Week 7 |
4/4 |
No Class - Holiday |
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Week 8 |
4/11 |
• Incentives
• Disclosure |
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Week 9 |
4/18 |
• Complexity
• Salience and attention |
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Week 10 |
4/25 |
• Asymmetric information: old age insurance; health insurance and unemployment insurance
• Application Process
• Effectiveness |
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Week 11 |
5/2 |
Applications
• Poverty
• Labor market application
• Mental accounting
• Savings
• Sleep
• Digital addictions
• Externalities and internalities |
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Week 12 |
5/9 |
• Introduction to implementation science
• Theories and frameworks of implementation science |
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Week 13 |
5/16 |
• Implementation strategies
• Implementation science measurement, outcomes, and design |
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Week 14 |
5/23 |
• Application, adaptation and fidelity |
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Week 15 |
5/30 |
• Student presentations |
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Week 16 |
6/6 |
• Student presentations
• Final words |
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