Douglas D. Davis has worked at the Federal Trade Commission and is currently Assistant Professor of Economics at Virginia Commonwealth University. Charles A. Holt is Professor of Economics at the University of Virginia and president of the Economic Science Association, a professional association of economists with interests in laboratory research. The authors have written articles on a wide range of topics in experimental economics. A small but increasing number of economists have begun to use laboratory experiments to evaluate economic propositions under carefully controlled conditions. Experimental Economics is the first comprehensive treatment of this rapidly growing area of research. While the book acknowledges that laboratory experiments are no panacea, it argues cogently for their effectiveness in selected situations. Covering methodological and procedural issues as well as theory, Experimental Economics is not only a textbook but also a useful introduction to laboratory methods for professional economists.
Although the authors present some new material, their emphasis is on organizing and evaluating existing results. The book can be used as an anchoring device for a course at either the graduate or advanced undergraduate level. Applications include financial market experiments, oligopoly price competition, auctions, bargaining, provision of public goods, experimental games, and decision making under uncertainty. The book also contains instructions for a variety of laboratory experiments. "This is a recommendable introduction to experimental economics which demonstrates the experimental method of data collection and also presents some of its major findings.... I strongly recommend the book to any scholar interested in experimental economics."
