Experimental Methods
- Teacher(s): R.Hakimov
- Course given in: English
- ECTS Credits: 6 credits
- Schedule: Autumn Semester 2020-2021, 4.0h. course (weekly average)
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sessions
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course website
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Related programmes:
Master of Science (MSc) in Economics
Master of Science (MSc) in Management, Orientation Strategy, Organization and Leadership
Master of Science (MSc) in Management, Orientation Marketing
Maîtrise universitaire ès Sciences en management, Orientation Behaviour, Economics and Evolution
Master of Science (MSc) in Management, Orientation Business Analytics -
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ObjectivesThe course introduces experimental methods and some of the major research areas that have been studied with the help of laboratory and field experiments. Economic experiments tackle real-world economic problems in a laboratory or field settings, allowing testing the validity of economic theories, the rationality of decision-making, and new market mechanisms. Experiments are the main empirical tool for behavioral economics. Unlike the course of behavioral economics, which is mostly based on theories, this course will cover mostly empirical evidence, while theories will be used for explanations of the empirical results. Experimental method allows establishing a causal relation between environment or conditions and the economic outcomes. For instance: Which is a better way to pay workers in the sales department of the firm selling insurances: fixed salary, percent or sales, or the combination of two? Experiment can give clear answer to this question, if designed properly. In this respect, experimental economics methodology has broad applicability outside of academic research. The key decision-makers, both in business and policy, ideally would rely on the evidence of the causal connection of the action/reform to the desired outcome. Thus, experiments within firm can be a key source of information for decision-making in variety of context from products choice to within-firm policies, like incentives schemes, between-employees contests, and the competitions of promotions. Governments, firms, and non-profit organizations therefore regularly use experimental designs to evaluate the success of specific programs, to test the efficiency of policy interventions, or to gain knowledge about drivers of the behavior of clients and citizens. Lately, several governments and large companies have set up own groups devoted to behavioral and experimental research. Of course, experimental methods are also an integral part of academic research. Although it is straightforward to understand how experiments can establish causal links, in practice experimental design is a challenging task. This course provides an overview of experimental methods and main experimental findings in a variety of business and economics topics. Course will have minimum methodological theory, but rather case-by-case learning approach through the variety of experimental designs. Students are introduced to experimental methodology through lectures, critical reading, presenting related research papers and eventually designing and (optionally) implementing their own economic experiment. The main goal of the course is to introduce experimental methods, as well as the main results of experimental research of past two decades. ContentsDescription in the case of on campus course (Please read below the format in case the restrictions for on campus courses remain): The course is divided into three unequal parts. During the first two weeks, I will cover the main features of experimental methods and a variety of individual decision-making experiments. The students will be familiarized with how the experiments are conducted and designed, which concerns the experimenter typically faces. Individual decision-making experiments cover experimental research concerning risk preferences, belief updating, and decision heuristics. During these classes, students are expected to attend the lectures and actively participate in the discussions. In the second part, which will last for ten weeks, I will present the variety of topics of experimental research in the first 90-120 minutes of the lectures, while the rest will be reserved for students’ presentations of pre-selected papers on the respective topic and the discussion of the papers. The list of papers with the dates of presentations will be available in the first lecture. The topics will include:
In the last two weeks of the course, students will present research projects that they develop over the course of the semester.
In case of restrictions on campus: The lecture part of the course will take place partially through weekly live sessions of approximately one hour and partially through pre-recorded videos. Students presentations of research papers and project ideas will also be done live through zoom to allow for questions and discussions. I will organize a couple of live streams for Q&A regarding projects in the second part of the semester.
ReferencesThere is no single textbook that we are going to rely on. Rather, we will use selected chapters from different textbooks as well as relevant research articles. We will discuss several articles in depth, and we expect students to carefully read these articles in advance and to prepare for the sessions. All material will be made available on the course website. The following books might can help get an overview of experimental methods:
Pre-requisitesPrior knowledge of game theory, basic statistics, and econometrics. Most importantly, however, students should simply be interested in experimental research. EvaluationFirst attempt
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