WEEK ONE: Markets and Auctions
R 1/10 Administrative day and introduction to the course
Participate in a market experiment and an auction experiment.
Discuss: History of game theory and experimental economics
Reading: “Experimental Market Economics”, Vernon Smith and Arlington
Williams, Scientific American, December 1992 (handed out in class)
WEEK TWO: Risk and Uncertainty
T 1/15 Discuss: Experimental results from Thursday’s class and basic market and auction theory.
Discuss: “Experimental Market Economics”, Vernon Smith and Arlington
Williams, Scientific American, December 1992
Participate in a “risk” experiment
Assignment: Write a review of the Holt-Laury paper following the guidelines given.
R 1/17 Discuss: Experimental results from Tuesday.
Discuss: Review expected utility theory and decision-making under uncertainty
Discuss: Holt, Charles A., and Susan K. Laury (2002) “Risk aversion and incentive effects in lottery choices,” American Economic Review 92 (5), 1644- 1655.
Participate in an ultimatum bargaining game
Assignment: Read abstracts of previous papers done in this course and email to Prof. Mylander your 1st, 2nd, and 3rd choices for the one you will review.
WEEK THREE: Bargaining, Trust, and Fairness
T 1/22 Discuss: Schmitt, P., Shupp, R., Swope, K. and Mayer, J. (2008). “Pre-Commitment and Personality: Behavioral Explanations in Ultimatum Games,” Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, Vol. 66(3-4): 597-605
Discuss: Using the “strategy method” in experiments
Participate in a centipede game and a prisoner’s dilemma game
Reading: “The Economics of Fair Play,” Sigmund, K., Fehr, E., and Howak, M.
Scientific American, January 2002 (handed out in class)
Assignment: Write a review of the Sigmund-Fehr-Howak paper following the guidelines given.
R 1/24 Discuss: Experimental results from Tuesday
Discuss: Introduction to non-cooperative game theory (players, actions, payoffs, equilibrium predictions including Nash equilibrium and equilibrium to repeated games)
Discuss: “The Economics of Fair Play,” Sigmund, K., Fehr, E., and Howak, M.
Scientific American, January 2002.
Reading: A paper done in the course in a previous year.
Assignment: Write a review of the paper you read; a handout will be provided listing the points that a minimum must be covered in the review.
WEEK FOUR: Social Dilemmas: Prisoner’s Dilemma, Public Goods Experiments, Common-Pool Resource Games
T 1/29 Participate in a public goods experiment
Assignment: Write a review of the Ostrom paper following the guidelines given.
R 1/31 Discuss: Experimental results from Tuesday
Discuss: Behavioral economics
Discuss: Ostrom, E. (2000). “Collective Action and the Evolution of Social Norms,” The Journal of Economic Perspectives Vol. 14(3): 137-158.
Assignment: Look at Prof. Charles Holt’s web site http://people.virginia.edu/~cah2k/ and the Vecon Lab’s web site http://veconlab.econ.virginia.edu/admin.htm
WEEK FIVE: Developing Project Proposals
T 2/5 Discuss: “The Competitive Advantage of Sanctioning Institutions,” Gurerk, O, B Irlenbush, B. Rockenback. Science 312 (7 April), pp 108-111, (2006).
Presentations and brain storming: Students determine areas of interest and discuss potential research topics with instructors and class.
Your draft project proposal is due 8-February.
R 2/7 Presentations and brain storming: Students determine areas of interest and discuss potential research topics with instructors and class.
Your draft project proposal is due 8-February.
WEEK SIX:
T 2/12 Meeting of groups of students working in similar areas. You will be notified by email of your group assignment and its meeting time.
R 2/14 Be prepared to
present your project proposal orally (about a 5-minute presentation). The
instructors will provide guidelines on writing a research proposal,
planning your project and a style guide for your paper. We will also discuss
your Final Project proposal due 19-February. Handout the “Formal Project
Proposal: Guidelines”
WEEK SEVEN:
T 2/19 Turn in your written proposal. This report will contain an outline of the issues to be studied, and the approach planned. Bring two copies. Finish the rest of the oral presentations of project proposals, if needed.
R 2/21 Meeting of groups of students working in similar areas. You will be notified by email of your group assignment and its meeting time.
WEEK EIGHT:
T 2/26 No class; meet with faculty advisers; students work on game-theoretic models, experimental design, and conducting experiments
R 2/28 No class; meet with faculty advisers; students work on game-theoretic models, experimental design, and conducting experiments
WEEK NINE:
T 3/5 No class; meet with faculty advisers; students work on game-theoretic models, experimental design, and conducting experiments
R 3/7 Send by email to both instructors a report on the status of your experiment or game model. Include a brief description of the experiment, the number of subjects that participated, the incentives used, etc.
WEEK TEN: Spring Break
WEEK ELEVEN:
T 3/19 No class; meet with faculty advisers; students work on game-theoretic models, experimental design, and conducting experiments. Experiments should be completed by this time.
R 3/21 A lecture on what is expected in the abstract and the introduction of your project report and a style guide for your report.
WEEK TWELVE:
T 4/2 No class; meet with faculty advisers; students work on completing 1st Draft of project report.
R 4/4 Email to your advisor before noon the 1st Draft of project report in an MSWord file. (Send a copy only to your project advisor.) Due by 4/5.
WEEK THIRTEEN:
T 4/2 No class; meet with faculty advisers; students work on completing project report.
R 4/4 No class; meet with faculty advisers; students work on completing project report.
WEEK FOURTEEN:
R 4/18 Turn in the complete, printed draft of project report to both instructors.
WEEK FIFTEEN:
T 4/23 Oral presentations of project reports.
R 4/25 Oral presentations of project reports
WEEK SIXTEEN:
T 4/30 Oral presentations of project reports and project papers due.
Final Project Report due by 5/2. Turn in two copies of your project report to
your project advisor and one copy to the other instructor. Also send a copy
of the title page with the abstract on it to Prof. Mylander.