Consumers’ preferences and choices 2400-ENSM063B

The Master Seminar in Preference and Choice Modelling and Non-Market Valuation is an advanced academic endeavor specifically designed for academically-inclined students who aspire to careers in academia or market consultancies. This seminar aims to immerse students in the critical and complex methodologies of economic research, delving deeply into both the theoretical and applied aspects of preference and choice modeling, as well as the valuation of non-market goods. It employs a rigorous research framework that addresses significant gaps in contemporary literature.

My research spans Preference and Choice Modeling, Non-market Valuation, Microeconometrics, and Microeconomics. The seminar leverages econometric methods to model consumer preferences in diverse field applications, including environmental economics, health economics, cultural economics, transport, and marketing. Participants are encouraged to engage with supplementary materials such as datasets and codes available through my research page, which exemplify the practical application of theoretical concepts.

The proposed projects will address state-of-the-art methods for modeling consumers’ preferences and the valuation of non-market goods—pivotal elements in modern microeconomics for determining socially optimal levels of public goods provision, designing private goods, and predicting consumer behaviors. Techniques such as Revealed Preferences (RP) and Stated Preferences (SP) form the backbone of our methodological approach. For instance, through Discrete Choice Experiments (DCE), we explore how individuals might value new infrastructural developments, assessing their willingness to pay based on hypothetical scenarios that closely mirror potential real-life decisions.

Despite the widespread application of SP methods in environmental economics and beyond, these approaches have faced critiques related to hypothetical market biases. Seminar topics may explore new methodological improvements inspired by mechanism design theory to refine SP methods, making them more robust and enhancing their validity. We will also examine behavioral phenomena that can potentially skew research outcomes.

Students will engage in advanced econometric analyses to test hypotheses within economic models, using both theoretical and applied perspectives. The seminar covers a range of topics, including the Travel Cost Method (TCM) and the Hedonic Price Method (HPM), exploring how these approaches can be applied to estimate consumer surplus and the value of various goods' characteristics.

The course may also touch upon practical applications of these non-market valuation methods and choice modeling techniques. Special attention will be given to modeling discrete choices using multinomial logit models and their extensions. Students interested in programming and computational aspects will have the opportunity to engage with or extend the modeling packages prepared in Matlab (https://github.com/czaj/), fostering a hands-on approach to learning and research.

We will utilize a wide range of advanced texts and recent journal articles relevant to preference and choice modeling, econometrics, and non-market valuation. Students are encouraged to start their literature review with resources available on platforms like Google Scholar to inspire and refine their thesis topics.

This seminar is best suited for inventive students who wish to delve deeper into literature and come up with an exceptional thesis or paper. By the end of the seminar, students are expected to master advanced techniques in preference and choice modeling, conduct sophisticated econometric analyses, develop and defend a rigorous dissertation, and effectively present their research findings to both academic and policymaking audiences.