Modelling Learning in Economics

Modelling Learning in Economics provides a comprehensive study of how learning processes can be modelled in an economic context.This innovative book investigates the processes involved in economic learning by categorizing different ways of learning, and using mathematical models for their description. The author distinguishes three types of learning processes - non-cognitive, routine-based and associative learning - and, for each of these, a model is proposed. Thomas Brenner also provides an overview of the psychological literature on learning and on the learning models most frequently used in economics. He then goes on to present applications of these models of learning to various economic topics including evolutionary game theory, consumption behaviour, investment behaviour of savers and the diffusion of innovation. In applying the models to economic topics, the author not only presents new insights into learning but also contributes to many topics within economic research. This book will be of interest to economic psychologists and economists working in the areas of game theory, consumer and investment behaviour and the diffusion of innovation.

Table of Contents:
Contents: 1. Introduction Part I: Theoretical Aspects of Learning 2. Categorisation of Learning 3. Modelling Learning Processes 4. Mathematical Prerequisites for Modelling Learning Part II: Learning in Diverse Economic Contexts 5. Learning of Preferences 6. Reinforcement Learning in Games 7. Reinforced Consumer Behaviour 8. Routine-based Choices of Assets 9. Learning and Diffusion 10. Associative Learning and the Evolution of Cooperation 11. Learning in Economic Research Bibliography Index

About the Author :
Thomas Brenner, Phillips Universitat Marburg, Germany

Review :
'I like this book because it attempts to tackle many difficult problems of applying learning theory that have not been satisfactorily dealt with in the literature. . . this book is an impressive achievement for so young a researcher in such a rapidly growing field. It contains many not yet fully exploited ideas, and, economic applications. This book should be useful for those seeking to reseach economic applications of learning models. I am glad to have read the book, and I think it makes a useful addition to the literature on learning in economics.' 'This is a book that anybody interested in the role of learning in economics will find informative. Its particular strength lies in the fact that the author has made a genuine attempt to knit together the formalism so vaunted by economists with the understanding of human decision processes that resides in the domain of psychologists.' 'I found this one of the most readable treatments of the enormously interesting and rapidly evolving area of learning in economics. Thomas Brenner has managed to combine a reasonably comprehensive account of a very large and rather amorphous literature with an insightful and engaging literary style, while at the same time not sacrificing anything in terms of mathematical rigour. I think that this book will be found useful by many who want to get an overview of an exciting area.'