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“Behavioral experiments” in economics

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 March 2025

Roberto A. Weber  and
Colin F. Camerer
Roberto A. Weber*
Affiliation:
Department of Social & Decision Sciences, Carnegie Mellon University
Colin F. Camerer*
Affiliation:
Division of the Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology
*
e-mail: [email protected]
e-mail: [email protected]
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Extract

Behavioral economics has grown significantly in importance and prevalence within the economics profession over the last couple of decades. Most economics departments now include researchers conducting behavioral research, and most economics journals regularly publish behavioral work.

Behavioral economics is generally defined as using evidence and constructs from neighboring social sciences, especially about limits on computation, willpower, and self-interest, to inform economic analysis (e.g., Camerer and Loewenstein, 2003). While many of these constructs come from psychology, other social sciences have much to contribute as well (see Weber and Dawes, 2005). For instance, anthropological research has provided important insights into the understanding of how social institutions and interactions shape strategic behavior (see Henrich et al., 2001).

Type
Research Article
Information
Experimental Economics , Volume 9 , Issue 3: Special Issue: Behavioral Economics , September 2006 , pp. 187 - 192
Copyright
Copyright © 2006 Economic Science Association

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