ECON6037 Experimental Economics
Housekeeping
Gerhard Riener
g.riener@soton.ac.uk
January 28, 2024
Course Description
Comprehensive overview of experimental methodology.
Target Audience: Master and graduate students.
Prerequisites: Undergraduate background in economic theory, statistics, econometrics.
Recommended: Knowledge of R for practical projects.
Further Development: Python/oTree (not compulsory).
Objectives can be found in the
module description
.
Contact
Gerhard Riener
Office: B58 (Murray) /3001
Email
Office hours online or on-site in the office (please book a slot and indicate your preference)
Wed 9-10am, Fri 1-2pm
Book here
Readings
A textbook on experimental economics. Available as an ebook.
(
Jacquemet and L’Haridon 2019
)
Additional material: EAGEP on the theory and practice of
field experiments
Practical examples:
WorldBank Impact Evaluation Blog
Software Skills
Recommended:
RStudio education
Python
Grading Policy
15%
Coursework 1
15%
Coursework 2
70%
Take-home assignment
Referral
100%
Take-home assignment
Attendance Policy
General attendance is strongly encouraged.
Class Schedule
Readings and schedule subject to change.
Required Course Work
Home assignments 1 and 2
Two home assignments based on lectures and research papers.
Each assignment: 15% of final grade.
Final project
Replicate and modify an existing experiment.
Write a detailed report (1500-2000 words).
Final project: 70% of final grade.
Collaboration in groups of two to three students.
Course Content
Topic 1: Introduction
Introduction to experimental economics.
Topic 2: Potential outcome framework
Design of economic experiments.
Topic 3: Statistical inference
Inference in economic experiments.
Topic 4: External validity
Generalizing experimental results.
Topic 5: Prototypical experiments
Various economic experiments.
Topic 6: Synthesizing the evidence
Replications and meta-analysis.
Jacquemet, Nicolas, and Olivier L’Haridon. 2019.
Experimental Economics: Method and Applications
. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.