Economics: Experimental Economics (B)

About ECON 1200 B

Representative topics: policy issues and debates such as social welfare programs, health policy, energy and climate policy, minimum wage, housing and zoning laws, education policy, poverty alleviation and discrimination, and regulations and institutions more broadly. Examines the role of government interventions and how incentives shape individual consumer and firm behavior under different market structures. For students from any discipline. Topics vary by offering; periodic offering at intervals that may exceed four years.

Notes

Open to Degree and PACE students

Section Description

This course uses the tools of experimental economics to examine how people make decisions - as individuals, in markets, and in strategic situations. Rather than assuming agents are perfectly rational and self-interested, we take behavior seriously as data. Each week pairs economics foundations with key experimental evidence, asking: what do real people do, why do they deviate from predictions, and what does that mean for market design, policy, and our models?

Topics include the endowment effect, overconfidence, time preferences, coordination games, auctions, bargaining, social preferences, deception, and network effects. By the end of the course, students will be able to read and evaluate experimental papers critically, design a simple incentivized experiment, and connect behavioral findings to real-world economic questions.

Section Expectation

This course pairs economic theory with experimental evidence and most weeks, we'll run a live experiment in class before unpacking the ideas behind it. Treat these seriously: your choices are the data. Come prepared, engage critically with readings, and participate honestly. The centerpiece of the course is your own experiment: in groups, you'll design an original incentivized study and present to the class. By the end, you should be able to read experimental papers critically, design a clean study, and connect behavioral findings to real economic questions.

Evaluation

Final grades will be based on weekly reading responses, biweekly experiment ideas, participation, and an experimental design project.

Important Dates

Note: These dates may change before registration begins.

Courses may be cancelled due to low enrollment. Show your interest by enrolling.

Resources

• Parking
• PACE Course Pricing
• Textbooks

Other Sections