3.00 Credits
This is an upper division undergraduate course, focused on Behavioral Economics, Game Theory and Experimental Economics. Behavioral economics and experimental economics are relatively new fields in which decision making is examined in a controlled laboratory/field setting. The data from these experiments are used to evaluate theories as well as to test and fine tune policies that could not be easily tested with naturally occurring data. The range of applications for experimental research is broad (and growing) and includes fields such as behavioral economics, public economics, industrial organization and regulation, environmental economics, game theory, and bargaining. This course surveys research in many of these fields and provides a basic framework for designing and conducting experiments. In this sense the course fulfills two objectives: to encourage students to think about the empirical and policy implications of the economic theories taught in other classes and to teach skills that may be used to conduct empirical analysis (using laboratory and field experiments data).