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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Narrative Economics by Yale University

4.8
stars
420 ratings

About the Course

Dear Potential Learner, Please take some time to read through this note before deciding to enroll. This course, Narrative Economics, is relatively short and proposes a simple concept: we need to incorporate the contagion of narratives into our economic theory. You can think of narratives as stories that shape public beliefs, which in turn influence our decision making. Understanding how people arrived at certain decisions in the past can aid our understanding of the economy today and improve our forecasts of the future. Popular thinking heavily influences our answers to questions such as how much to invest, how much to spend or save, whether to go to college or take a certain job, and many more. Narrative economics is the study of the viral spread of popular narratives that affect economic behavior. I believe incorporating these ideas into our research must be done both to improve our ability to anticipate and prepare for economic events and help us structure economic institutions and policy. Until we better incorporate it into our methods of analysis and forecasting, we remain blind to a very real, very palpable, very important mechanism for economic change. Even in the dawning age of the Internet and artificial intelligence, so long as people remain ultimately in control, human narratives will matter. Maybe they will especially matter as the new technology exploits human weaknesses and creates new venues for narrative contagion. If we do not understand the epidemics of popular narratives, we cannot fully understand changes in the economy and in economic behavior. The course is broken into 4 modules: Part I introduces basic concepts and demonstrates how popular stories change over time to affect economic outcomes, including recessions, depressions and inequality as well as effective inspiration and growth.. These stories can be observed from diverse sources such as politics, the media, or even popular songs. Part II seeks to answer why some stories go viral, while others are quickly forgotten, by defining our narrative theory more firmly. This module enumerates and explores a list of seven propositions to help discipline any analysis of economic narratives. Part III examines nine perennial narratives that have proved their ability to influence important economic decisions. They include narratives regarding artificial intelligence, stock market bubbles, and job insecurity. Part IV looks to the future and highlights the opportunities for consilience in Narrative Economics. We share some thoughts about where narratives are taking us at this point in history and what kind of future research could improve our understanding of them. This course offers only the beginnings of a new idea and a few suggestions for how it could be used by economists and financial professionals. The tone is not prescriptive or authoritative, as perhaps my Coursera course, Financial Markets, is in places. It represents the beginning of the journey (epidemic). This course is my way of floating the “germ” of this idea out into the broader community of not only professionals but of anyone who is interested in discovering how and why things become “important” to us as a society. I hope some of you will become infected by this idea, mutate it, spread it, and advance it. The beginning of the journey is the easy part. The challenge will come in taking these concepts to the next level. We have the tools to incorporate narratives into our research and the moral obligation to act; only the work remains. - Robert J. Shiller...

Top reviews

AV

Jun 6, 2023

A very insightful and approachable course about the effects of human biases over the economic landscape and how social trends tend to leave a permanent mark on history and exact sciences like finance.

LA

Mar 10, 2024

I really enjoyed this course, it opened my eyes so much and I might keep going even though I only took this course out of fun, I was very interested in this topic. lucky me it Was interesting! Thanks

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26 - 50 of 135 Reviews for Narrative Economics

By Aidao G

Apr 15, 2024

Best course in all of my undergraduate and graduate studies until now! But I am sure that the course on financial markets with professor Shiller will be at least equally good as said course. His lectures motivated me to pursue a graduate degree at Yale (preferably a double degree MBA/PhD)

By Дианова И В

Jun 16, 2023

Профессор Шиллер великолепно излагает материал: просто, понятно, объективно и в позитивной форме. Курс "Нарративная экономика" дал мне ответ на вопрос как формируются экономические истории. Профессор Шиллер вдохновил меня "написать" свою историю и прожить её с удовольствием.

By Pradip M

Oct 2, 2023

Prof Shiller has put together a course that encompasses everyday events including the way that changes peoples perceptions over time and through adversities. This course has immense purpose and vision to capture the imagination of people across all pursuations. Salute Sir.

By Glühbrine

Jul 9, 2023

Sincerely thanks for Mr. doctor Shiler,you give me the opportunity and courage to search this wonderful land.

I promise that I would complete my own personal narrative of my youth dream in economics,with great passion and the spirit of never giving up.

By Judih W H

Apr 8, 2023

Fascinating approachable course enriched with examples from across disciplines from music to jokes about 10-year deliveries on cars in Russia back in Reagan's day. Narratives that infiltrate societal decisions. Recommended.

By M T

Apr 12, 2023

I really enjoyed this course. It's a surprising way of looking at economics. Some disciplines appear to be going in the opposite direction. For example psychology moving away from Freud and Jung towards neuroscience.

By César F

Mar 10, 2024

Nos invita a realizar un razonamiento critico sobre ideas que surgen en la historia las cuales si se les da tiempo y espacio, pueden llegar a impactar sobre la economía y en otros campos de la vida y la educación.

By Simarpreet K P

Jul 24, 2023

Very useful course. Provides many inter-disciplinary links and explanations for historical events and gives attention to the power and tendency of narratives and how they bleed into society's decision-making.

By Surendra K

Sep 24, 2023

It is a new domain and efforts are laudable. Prof Shiller himself mentions in one of his videos that sometime in future taxonomy of narrative economics may be in place, with the efforts of people like him.

By Sudipayan B

Jun 23, 2023

It was a so engaging and interesting course. I am very happy and satisfied not that now I have a new insight to things happening around me and influencing my behavior. Looking foreword to similar course.

By Alex V

Jun 7, 2023

A very insightful and approachable course about the effects of human biases over the economic landscape and how social trends tend to leave a permanent mark on history and exact sciences like finance.

By Lujain A

Mar 11, 2024

I really enjoyed this course, it opened my eyes so much and I might keep going even though I only took this course out of fun, I was very interested in this topic. lucky me it Was interesting! Thanks

By Felix O

Aug 18, 2023

It's a real good course full of history lessons and its narrative expressions that have forged our current economy! The Professor explains everything very clearly and makes it a very fun experience!

By Kevin E B S

Apr 25, 2023

Muy detallado y preciso, este curso es recomendable si te interesan los efectos económicos vistos desde la perspectiva, causas y consecuencias de una narrativa implícita en ese preciso tiempo.

By Jose A

Apr 18, 2023

Great intro to using Google Ngrams, excellent historical context for presenting the argument of narrative causality effects on trends, popular opinion and societal shifts.

By JAVIER F V

Aug 25, 2023

I really liked the subject and the format of the classes and above all the teacher, I found him to be very professional and at the same time very approachable.

By Sina Z

Jul 31, 2023

Great professor and great content. The topics inspired me to start thinking differently about economic and personal narratives. I highly recommend this course.

By Paola L

Jul 25, 2023

Very interesting and inspiring course with an outstanding Professor.

Prof. Shiller made me passionate about finance and economics (and it was not so

Thank you.

By Rejeena s t

Aug 16, 2023

Thank you so much yale university. I AM VERY THANKFUL TO YOUR GREAT EFFORTS ON YOUR INVOLVEMENT IN MY STUDIES . Which lead my career to start a journey.

By Sujatha R

Jul 5, 2023

Thanks Prof Robert Shiller for putting together this wonderful course and offering it for free. I really enjoyed learning about Narrative Economics.

By Richard S

Feb 1, 2024

Prof. Shiller presented an interesting way to look at economic issues. This is a much more approachable way of viewing economic problems.

By M. W S

Aug 7, 2023

Prof. Robert Shiller is something more than an economist. It's my dream to attend some of his live classes. He's extremely elegant person.

By Stella L

Jul 4, 2023

It is great to see world-renowned economist adopting an MDT approach in understanding economic phenomena and do economic forecasting.

By Rajrupa S

Jun 22, 2023

I just loved the course, it is extremely insightful and really pushes you ti see major economic events through a new lenses

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By Emily W

Sep 12, 2023

Absolutely fascinating and delightful. Very engaging lessons, excellent resources, and highly effected quizzes and tests.