Experimental Economics: Problems with the Social Rules (original) (raw)

Special issue on “experimental economics and the social embedding of economic behaviour and cognition”

Mind & Society, 2010

Can human social cognitive processes and social motives be grasped by the methods of experimental economics? Experimental studies of strategic cognition and social preferences contribute to our understanding of the social aspects of economic decisions making. Yet, papers in this issue argue that the social aspects of decision-making introduce several difficulties for interpreting the results of economic experiments. In particular, the laboratory is itself a social context, and in many respects a rather distinctive one, which raises questions of external validity.

Towards a new experimental socio-economics

Journal of Socio-economics, 2002

Game theory has provided a rigorous conceptual support to analyse strategic decisions and bargaining behaviour. But it shares with competitive equilibrium three basic assumptions. The players are fully rational; they comprehend the faced situation; and they know all the relevant institutional parameters. Thus disregarding the social dimension of bargaining. In this paper we advocate for a consilient focus of economics,

The Experimental Study of Behaviour In Economics

The study of behavior in economics using paid experiments has a history of about half a century. This article tracks not just the chronological history of the field of experimental economics but the intellectual history of the way agent behavior has been studied in economics since the advent of the rational-actor framework in the nineteenth century. I examine the methodologies that form the bedrock of experimentation in economics, their origins, their advantages and their antecedents. I also explore the manner in which experimental economics has enabled theories and frameworks from fields in social sciences like psychology, anthropology and political science to influence the way behavior is modeled in economics, leading to newer theoretical understandings that go far beyond the traditional view of the agent as homo-economicus, i.e. - a self interested rational maximizer interested in merely increasing his material wealth.

Fair and impartial spectators in experimental economics

Our primary purpose in this article is to draw upon the literature of classical liberal economy to show how it informs and is informed by the results from experimental economics. Adam Smith's first great book, The Theory of Moral Sentiments, serves as our chief source of insights for understanding and interpreting modern laboratory research in terms of the conventions that govern human conduct in personal exchange. At the same time, we wish to demonstrate how today's economic experiments elucidate a reading of Adam Smith.

What ethics can learn from experimental economics — If anything

European Journal of Political Economy, 2010

The contrary to fact assumption of a consensus underlying most ideal type ethical theories in general and contractarian theories of justice in particular is highly problematic. Relying on the specific example of ultimatum bargaining experiments this paper explores whether and if so how "norm(ative) facts" as reveal themselves in (heterogeneous) human behavior can and should be incorporated into the search for a inter-personal (W)RE-(Wide) Reflective Equilibrium. It is discussed how "revealed" ethical orientations can be used along with stated ones.

What Ethics Can Learn From Experimental Economics – If Anything

RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, 2009

Relying on the specific example of ultimatum bargaining experiments this paper explores the possible role of empirical knowledge of behavioural "norm(ative) facts" within the search for an inter-personal (W)RE-(Wide) Reflective Equilibrium on normative issues. Assuming that pro-social behaviour "reveals" ethical orientations, it is argued that these "norm-facts" can and should be used along with stated preferences in justificatory arguments of normative ethics and economics of the "means to given ends" variety.

Identifying Social Effects with Economic Experiments

A growing literature indicates that social effects, in which the behavior of an individual reflects that of hers peers or reference group, can have many and far-reaching economic implications. However, identification of social effects is difficult because behavior of an individual and her reference group will tend to be correlated even in the absence of social effects. In an effort to resolve these problems, this study presents a novel experimental design based on the implementation of multiple, socially heterogeneous, anonymous experimental sessions within a set of 30 small Honduran communities. By randomly assigning subjects to roles and experimental sessions we radically improve the identification of social effects. Our results reveal the existence of significant social effects even when no strategic interaction or coordination within experimental sessions was possible. For example, people tend to be more trusting when surrounded by men. At an individual level, people who are more well established in the community are more generous and trusting, and they are even more generous and trusting when surrounded by other well-established people. While some of our results are consistent with attempts at imitation, the evidence reveals the presence of non-imitation contextual effects also. That is, the social context might affect individual behavior through several mechanisms simultaneously. Our results show not only that simple experimental designs can help resolve difficult identification issues, but also that the heterogeneity naturally found in the population at large is crucial in this task. To our knowledge, this is the first time that these kind of social effects have been successfully identified in the experimental literature.