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This course will provide students with an in-depth treatment of this increasingly popular method for testing and stimulating economic theory. The course aims to equip students in three main areas: to become familiar with experimental methods; learn some major areas of applications; and critically evaluate the potential and limitations of laboratory experimental research.
Economics 668 is an advanced course in experimental economics research methods. This course will provide students with an in-depth look at this increasingly popular method for testing and stimulating economic theory. Traditionally, economics research has sought to test the predicted effect of a policy change on an economic outcome of interest using data surveyed from households, firms, or public organisations. Such tests face stringent challenges of identification – the need to control for reverse causation, or the effect of unobserved third factors on both the policy change and outcome of interest. In contrast, experiments require instead that the researcher have the ability to randomly assign individuals across policy treatment conditions. The average causal effect of a policy on economic outcomes should then be more easily identified across treatments, as differences in other factors should average out.The course aims to equip students in three areas: 1) to become familiar with sound experimental methods, 2) learn some major areas of applications, and 3) critically evaluate the potential and limitations of laboratory experimental research. Regarding methods, we will discuss the design of laboratory experiments, including common statistical methods of analysing results. The latter include standard panel regression techniques taught in econometrics, but also nonparametric tests. Results from applications of experiments will be discussed in areas such as: the free rider problem in the voluntary provision of public goods, the design of auctions, bargaining, combatting pollution and improving the valuation of environmental goods, and individual choice under uncertainty. Finally, students should learn to critically analyse the strengths and weaknesses of individual experiments, and more generally the extent to which we can use the results of laboratory experiments to understand or predict the behaviour of people in the real world.
Through their work in this course, students are expected to be able to:- discuss sound experimental methods in economics- apply experimental methods to relevant application areas in economics- critically evaluate the potential and limitations of laboratory experimental research in general- critically evaluate the potential and limitations of specific experiments- communicate the findings of critical evaluation in written and oral form
Subject to approval of the Head of Department.
Jeremy Clark
Course Outline
Domestic fee $925.00
International Postgraduate fees
* All fees are inclusive of NZ GST or any equivalent overseas tax, and do not include any programme level discount or additional course-related expenses.
For further information see Department of Economics and Finance .