Experiments
Economics experiments are probably the most common strategy used in economics classrooms. Multiple economic concepts can be experimented in the classroom. An instructor, without previous knowledge of classroom experiments, should refer to Holt (2007) and Starting Point as they provide all the necessary background and instructions for implementation.
The efficiency of classroom experiments is extensively scrutinized in the economics literature. Most studies identify positive results; however, there is no strong consensus. Frank (1997); Emerson and Taylor (2004); Ball et al. (2006); Dickie (2006); Durham et al. (2007); Emerson and Taylor (2007); Emerson and English (2016); Grol et al. (2017); Lin (2018); and Lin (2020) found positive results, while Yandell (1999); Mitchell (2008); Dufwenberg and Swarthout (2009); Ebbers et al. (2012); and Eisenkopf and Sulser (2016) find mitigated results.
Cartwright and Stepanova (2012) show that student performance is higher when an in-class experiment is followed by some assessment or homework, e.g., writing a report.
Below is a list of experiments you can use with your students in the classroom.
Industrial Organization
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Adverse Selection
Grogan (2018); Hodgson (2014); Mellor (2005)
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Advertising
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Capacity-Constrained Firms
Barseghyan and Grigoryan (2019)
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Collusion and Cartels
Correa et al. (2016); Picault (2015)
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Competitive Markets
Holt (1996); Baker and Madden (2021)
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Double Oral Auction
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Duopolies
Beckman (2003); Giles and Voola (2006); Meister (1999); Picault (2015)
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Hotelling Model
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Lerner Index
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Monopoly
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Patents
Bernard and Yiannaka (2010); Diduch (2010); Haugen and Juranek(2023); Picault (2020)
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Platforms
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Price Discrimination
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Product Differentiation
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Supply Chains
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Vertical Integration
Microeconomics
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Diminishing Marginal Product
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Diminishing Marginal Utility
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General Equilibrium
Boháček (2002); Johnson (2010)
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Labor Market
Garces-Ozanne and Esplin (2010); Haupert (1996)
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Price Elasticity of Demand
Lin (2018); Muchiri and Paraschiv (2019)
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Prisoner’s Dilemma
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Sunk Cost
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Supply and Demand
Holt (1996); Settlage and Wollscheid (2019)
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Utility Maximization
Macroeconomics
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Aggregate Demand
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Exchange Rate
Hazlett and Ganje (1999); Johnson (2018); Johnson and Staveley-O’Carroll (2020); Mitchell et al. (2009)
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Labor Mobility
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Money Demand
Chen (2018); Ewing et al. (2004)
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Production-Possibility Frontier
Carson and Tsigaris (2011); Lin (2018); Lin (2021); Neral and Ray (1995)
Finance
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Floor Trading
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Risk
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Speculative Bubbles
Ball and Holt (1998); Moinas and Pouget (2016)
Political Economics
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Distributive Justice
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Rent Seeking
Roush and Johnson (2018); Strow and Strow (2006)
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Voting
Environmental Economics
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Coase Theorem
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Common-Pool Resources Management
Farolfi and Erdlenbruch (2020)
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Negative Externality from Production
Carson and Tsigaris (2011); Corrigan (2011); Hoyt et al. (1999)
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Cap and Trade
Carattini et al. (2020); Caviglia-Harris and Melstrom (2015); Corrigan (2011)
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Public Good Provision
Holt and Laury (1997); Lamb and Tsigaris (2011)
Money and Banking
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Bank Equity Requirements
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Bank Runs
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Monetary Policy
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Role of Banks
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Role of Central Banks
Trade
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Comparative Advantage and Gains from Trade
Anderson et al. (2008); Chiang (2007); Cook and Pantuosco (2022); Haupert (1996); Hong (2019)
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Tariffs
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Trade Barriers
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New Trade Theory
General Economic Skills
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Economic Modeling
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Monty Hall Dilemma
