Topics:
1. Incentives matter. Find an example of bad incentives in the real world and suggest ways to fix the problem. Bad incentives are incentives designed to change certain behaviors but fail to do so. Explain why you think your approach is better.
2. Several studies report gender differences in competitive settings. Discuss ways how you could mitigate the negative effect of competition on the career progression of women in corporate settings. Discuss novel ideas, not discussed in class.
3. People tend to share negative experiences at a higher rate than positive experiences on social media (“negativity bias”). Discuss ways to get people to share also positive experiences. Use innovative ideas other than just offering payment or other straight-forward incentives.
4. People tend to pay their taxes at much higher rates than warranted by the deterrence approach of standard economics that considers audit rates and penalties. Discuss what factors might be responsible for people’s relatively high tax compliance and discuss ways of how the IRS could further increase compliance. Come up with your own ideas.