Choice-Process Data in Experimental Economics

The Use of Rational Choice Theory in Experimental Economics

The main purpose of rational choice theory is to lay out in clear and transparent terms what conditions are necessary and/or sufficient for the validity of statements about consistent human behavior. Strong criteria for rationality are ‘wrong’ if understood as a positive description. However, their very strength provides a sharp guide for experimental social science’s project of mapping the pro...

Experimental Methods in Economics *

Essays in Experimental Economics

This paper tests whether people can exercise self-control in limiting consumption of unwanted food and whether they can pre-empt their future lack of self-control by restricting the availability of food. An experiment was conducted with Stanford University undergraduates over a period of 7 weeks in which some participants were given a fixed number of candies by the experimenter and other partic...

Welfare Economics and Public Choice

Welfare economics provides the basis for judging the achievements of markets and policy makers in allocating resources. Its most powerful conceptual tool is the utility possibility frontier. This defines the set of utility allocations that can be achieved in a society subject to the constraints of tastes and technologies. Any allocation on the frontier cannot be Pareto dominated and hence would...

Social Preferences in Experimental Economics