Undergraduate Course: Experimental Economics (ECNM10090)
Course Outline
| School | School of Economics |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course is an introduction to the field of Experimental Economics, its methods, and some of the recent applications. The course will introduce students to how controlled experiments are used in Economics to evaluate theories and behavioural assumptions as well as to test policies and their implementation by presenting key findings in the literature. It also aims to provide students with skills needed to design and run an experiment. |
| Course description |
The course will consist of an introduction to experimental methods; various laboratory and field experiments and discussion of their experimental designs and evidence. Seminal papers and recent developments in the literature will be addressed in this course. Some indicative topics that will be included: risk, uncertainty, trust, dishonesty, public good games, social preferences, voting, decision making, health behaviours.
The course is taught through a programme of lectures and seminars. Reading and critical assessment of the literature is an important ingredient of the course.
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Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2022/23, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
|
Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 20,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 6,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
170 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
70 %,
Coursework
30 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
30% coursework, 70% written exam |
| Feedback |
Written feedback will be provided on the written assignment.
Students will be welcomed to discuss their exam after the release of the final marks and the answer guide. |
| Exam Information |
| Exam Diet |
Paper Name |
Hours & Minutes |
|
| Main Exam Diet S1 (December) | | 2:00 | |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- A knowledge and understanding of key concepts, issues and models in experimental economics, along with empirical evidence on and policy implications of those models and a deeper understanding of recent research activity in some more specialised areas.
- Research and investigative skills such as problem framing and solving and the ability to assemble and evaluate complex evidence and arguments.
- Communication skills in order to critique, create and communicate understanding and to collaborate with and relate to others.
- Personal effectiveness through task-management, time-management, teamwork and group interaction, dealing with uncertainty and adapting to new situations, personal and intellectual autonomy through independent learning.
- Practical/technical skills such as, modelling skills (abstraction, logic, succinctness), qualitative and quantitative analysis and general IT literacy.
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Reading List
A variety of academic articles associated with each lecture will be assigned, which students are advised to read carefully. In addition, students may wish to refer to the following textbooks to aid their comprehension:
Behavioral Game Theory: Experiments in Strategic Interaction by Colin F. Camerer, Princeton UP, 2003.
Experimental Economics by Douglas D. Davis and Charles A. Holt, Princeton UP, 1993.
Experimental Economics: A Primer for Economists by Daniel Friedman, Cambridge UP, 1994.
Field Experiments in Economics: Handbook of Experimental Economics edited by John A List, Elsevier, 2005.
Handbook of Experimental Economics edited by John H. Kagel and Alvin E. Roth, Princeton UP, 1997.
Handbook of Experimental Economics Results edited by Charles Plott, Vernon Smith, Elsevier, 2008.
Papers in Experimental Economics by Vernon L. Smith, Cambridge UP, 2006. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Research and Inquiry
B1. The ability to identify, define and analyse theoretical and applied economic problems and identify or devise approaches to investigate and solve these problems.
B3. The ability to critically assess existing understanding of economic and social issues, the limitations of that understanding and the limitations of their own knowledge and understanding of those issues.
B4. The ability to question the principles, methods, standards and boundaries of economic knowledge
Personal and Intellectual Autonomy
C1. The ability to be independent learners who take responsibility for their own learning, and are committed to continuous reflection, self-evaluation and self-improvement.
C4. The ability to collaborate and debate effectively to test, modify and strengthen their own views.
Communication
D1. The ability to make effective use of oral, written and visual means to critique, create and communicate understanding.
D2. The ability to further their own learning through effective use of feedback.
D3. The ability to use communication as a tool for collaborating and relating to others.
Personal Effectiveness
E1. The ability to manage tasks and also skills in time-management.
E4. The ability to work effectively with others, capitalising on their different thinking. |
| Additional Class Delivery Information |
One 2 hour lecture per week, plus tutorials. |
| Keywords | ExpEcon |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Athanasia Arnokourou
Tel: (0131 6)51 3853
Email: |
Course secretary | Miss Becky Guthrie
Tel:
Email: |
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