Experimental Economics
Method and Applications

Demonstrates how controlled experiments can be a useful tool in providing empirical evidence relevant to economic research.

Nicolas Jacquemet (Author), Olivier L'Haridon (Author)

9781107060272, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 29 November 2018

472 pages, 60 b/w illus.
25.3 x 17.7 x 3 cm, 0.98 kg

'This is a great book. It lays out the whys, what fors, and hows of experimental economics. It takes us through the econometric skills we need and describes the steps one has to take in designing and running an experiment. It is destined to be the go-to teaching and reference book for the field.' Andrew Schotter, Director, Center for Experimental Social Science, New York University

Over the past two decades, experimental economics has moved from a fringe activity to become a standard tool for empirical research. With experimental economics now regarded as part of the basic tool-kit for applied economics, this book demonstrates how controlled experiments can be a useful in providing evidence relevant to economic research. Professors Jacquemet and L'Haridon take the standard model in applied econometrics as a basis to the methodology of controlled experiments. Methodological discussions are illustrated with standard experimental results. This book provides future experimental practitioners with the means to construct experiments that fit their research question, and new comers with an understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of controlled experiments. Graduate students and academic researchers working in the field of experimental economics will be able to learn how to undertake, understand and criticise empirical research based on lab experiments, and refer to specific experiments, results or designs completed with case study applications.

Part I. What Is It? An Introduction to Experimental Economics: 1. The emergence of experiments in economics
2. A laboratory experiment: overview
Part II. Why? The Need for Experiments in Economics: 3. The need for controlled experiments in empirical economics
4. The need for experimental methods in economic science
Part III. How? Laboratory Experiments in Practice: 5. Designing an experiment: internal validity issues
6. Conducting an experiment
7. The econometrics of experimental data
Part IV. What For? What Laboratory Experiments Tell Us: 8. The external validity of experimental results
9. More accurate theory and better public policies: the contributions of experimental economics.

Subject Areas: Behavioural economics [KCK], Econometrics [KCH], Economics [KC], Cognition & cognitive psychology [JMR]