Experimental Economics
Course Description and Objectives
The course is research oriented and has three main learning objectives. The first is to
introduce the students in the course to the methodology of conducting experimental
economics research. The second objective is to review and critically assess predictions of
economic theory and game theory in the light of people’s actual behavior in the economic
laboratory and in the field. Some evidence from market experiments and from experimental
game theory will be covered in the course. Applications may include: competitive markets,
topics in industrial organization, environmental economics and climate change, international
trade, provision of public goods, asset markets, auctions. Some recent developments in
behavioral game theory will also be surveyed, including social preferences, bargaining
behavior, limited depth of reasoning, group identity and social networks, and behavior in
repeated games. The third objective of the course is to start the students on their own
experimental research projects.
Assessment
The course will include some lectures, seminar type meetings and some laboratory sessions.
Students are required to actively participate in both class discussions and laboratory sessions, and
present and discuss journal articles in experimental economics in class. The assessment may
include some problem sets, class presentations and participation. By the end of the course, the
students are required to generate an original research proposal in experimental economics. In the
last week of the course, we will conduct a mini-conference in experimental economics, where the
class participants will present their research proposals in a conference format. Both individual
proposals and small group projects are encouraged.
Main reading
Davis, Douglas, and Charles Holt, 1993, Experimental Economics, Princeton University
Press.
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