Experimental Methods

This modular course provides students with the main insights into the methodology of economic experiments. Students will learn how economic experiments can help identify causal effects (via randomization) and thereby complement and advance other empirical methods.

We will discuss the different purposes of economic experiments as well as different types of economic experiments. Most emphasis is put on how to design economic experiments (e.g., within- vs. between-subjects designs, how and what to measure, how and on what level to randomize on, how to avoid potential selection or attrition, how to write instructions for lab and online experiments, etc.).

In different modules, we will discuss the measurement of preferences (e.g., risk, time, and social preferences), beliefs, and actions, and shed light on important methodological aspects (such as the use of multiple price lists, convex budget sets, and the strategy vs. the direct response method).

We will also discuss the process of planning and running an economic experiment (including preregistration, ethics approval, available programming / implementation options, data storage, and data privacy issues) and the principles of analyzing experimental data.

 

• The course usually takes place every winter term.
• Further information and all relevant documents can be found on the Moodle course page.

Books

Jacquemet, N., & l'Haridon, O. (2018). Experimental economics. Cambridge University Press.

Moffatt, P. G. (2015). Experimetrics: Econometrics for experimental economics. Macmillan International Higher Education.

 

Overview Articles

Al-Ubaydli, O., & List, J. A. (2012). On the generalizability of experimental results in economics (No. w17957). National Bureau of Economic Research.

Croson, R., & Gächter, S. (2010). The science of experimental economics. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 73(1), 122-131.

Harrison, G. W., & List, J. A. (2004). Field experiments. Journal of Economic Literature, 42(4), 1009-1055.

Samuelson, L. (2005). Economic theory and experimental economics. Journal of Economic Literature, 43(1), 65-107.

 

An interesting related read

List, J. A. (2020). Non est disputandum de generalizability? A glimpse into the external validity trial (No. w27535). National Bureau of Economic Research.

The documents for the lecture will be made available to you via the Moodle learning platform. The slides used in the lecture will be made available for download a few days before the lecture.

Link to the course in campus online: https://campusonline.uni-ulm.de/qislsf/rds?state=verpublish&status=init&vmfile=no&publishid=166825&moduleCall=webInfo&publishConfFile=webInfo&publishSubDir=veranstaltung