Experiencing Economics
Conducting economic experiments online and in the classroom is an effective way of getting students to use economics to think about the world around them. Taking part in experiments enthuses students about the subject and helps them to emphasise with economic agents and to critically engage with theoretical frameworks.
Experiencing Economics is an ebook of experiments and games that you can run with your students online or in-the-classroom to help them learn about economics while participating in economically interesting situations. The experiments and games complement the units in The Economy and Economy, Society, and Public Policy, and can also be used alongside other textbooks.
This freely available ebook provides detailed step-by-step guides, student instructions, predictions, discussion topics, and homework questions, so everyone can easily conduct the experiments even without prior experience. The experiments are pre-programmed on the classEx platform, making running experiments and collecting data very fast and easy.
Please note that access to the full text of the ebook, including the step-by-step guides noted above, is available to registered teachers only. If you haven’t already, please click here to register.
So far, two experiments have been published:
- Public goods game – this is a classic public goods game in which teachers and students can explore the question: Are humans able to cooperate to achieve socially beneficial outcomes, or do they succumb to free-rider incentives?
- Coordination game – a coordination game with an investment frame in which we explore: What strategic considerations drive investment behaviour?
A third experiment is currently in development, with an estimated time of publication by mid-May 2021:
- Pollution, taxes, and permits – this experiment presents a competitive market where students act either as mine-owners or as demanders of coal, used for heating their homes. Teachers and students can explore the question: what policies are effective in mitigating negative externalities like pollution?
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