Doctoral students specializing in experimental economics presented at the 2016 Economic Science Association (ESA) Conference. The ESA Conference took place from November 10 – 12 in Tucson, AZ.
TAMU Department of Economics Hosts 2016 Conference on Methods in Experimental Economic Research
From October 14 – 15, 2016, the Texas A&M University Department of Economics hosted the 2016 Conference on Methods in Experimental Economic Research (“MEER” Conference).
Experimental economists from all over the county were in attendance, as were a number of TAMU graduate students. The conference was composed of eight talks over the course of the two days:
- Sally Sadoff, University of California at San Diego
- Michael Price, Georgia State University
- Heather Schofield, University of Pennsylvania
- Lucas Coffman, Harvard University
- Nathaniel Higgins, White House Social and Behavioral Sciences Team
- Kelsey Jack, Tufts University
- Amanda Agan, Rutgers University
- Andrew Barr, Texas A&M University
The event was funded by a grant from the College of Liberal Arts. The first M.E.E.R. Conference took place in March 2015.
Experimental Economics PhD Student Wins John Van Huyck Teaching Award
Billur Aksoy, a fourth-year experimental economics PhD student, received the John Van Huyck Teaching Award from the Department of Economics at Texas A&M University. The award is given to a doctoral student in economics who excels is teaching and is in honor of the late Dr. John Van Huyck.
Congratulations, Billur!
Behavioral Economics and Policy Program Welcomes Two New Faculty Members
The Behavioral Economics and Policy Program (BEPP) at Texas A&M University is pleased to announce the arrival of two new faculty members to the team. Dr. Marco Castillo and Dr. Ragan Petrie have come to Texas A&M’s Department of Economics from George Mason University.
The BEPP is excited to have them join the Texas A&M experimental economics team.
Welcome, Ragan and Marco!
PhD Students Attend Barcelona Graduate School of Economics Summer Forum
Ada Kovaliukaite, fourth-year experimental economics PhD student, and Mackenzie Alston, third-year experimental economics PhD student, were selected to participate in the 2016 Barcelona Graduate School of Economics’ (GSE) Summer Forum in Barcelona, Spain.
The Barcelona GSE forum took place from June 6 – 21, 2016, and was attended by students from all over the world. Participants received extensive training and experience in macroeconomic and collaborated with peers on group projects.
Catherine Eckel Presents lectures at Australian National University
Catherine Eckel, Sarah and John Lindsey Professor in the Liberal Arts and University Distinguished Professor in the Department of Economics at Texas A&M University, gave several talks at Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra, Australia, during July 2016.
Dr. Eckel gave an F.H. Gruen Public Lecture on “Shopping for Trust” on July 19, 2016. In contrast to most research on trust, in this study (joint with Rick Wilson) Dr. Eckel uses lab experiments to show that choosing a partner substantially increases trust and reciprocity in an incentivized trust game. Partner choice is based on viewing the photographs of potential counterparts, and trusters are able to select counterparts who are more trustworthy. That is, potential partners that appear to be honest and trustworthy prove to reciprocate larger amounts in the trust game.
She also gave two talks to ANU’s Gender Institute on July 20, 2016 (pictured below). These consisted of a talk on mentoring female graduate students and junior faculty, and another one on lab experimental research on gender differences in financial market behavior.
Experimental Economics Doctoral Student Featured in GPSC Research Spotlight
Haley Harwell, a fifth-year experimental economics doctoral student, has been featured in the Graduate and Professional Student Council’s (GPSC) Research Spotlight.
To view the full feature, please go to: http://www.gpsctamu.org/research-spotlight.html.
Dean of the College of Liberal Arts Visits Experimental Economics Group
On Friday, April 1, 2016, Dr. Pamela Matthews, dean of the College of Liberal Arts, visited the TAMU experimental economics group (including the Behavioral Economics and Policy Program, BEPP, and the Economic Research Laboratory, ERL). This was her first meeting with the experimental economics group.
Dean Matthews met with faculty, graduate students, undergraduate students, and student workers. Discussion included what projects the group was working on as well as future goals. Dean Matthews also had the opportunity to tour the facilities and participate in an ERL experiment.
Experimental Economics PhD Student Wins Fasken Award
Wei Zhan, a fourth-year experimental economics PhD student, has won the 2016 Fasken Teaching Award. The annual award is given to one doctoral student who demonstrates excellence in teaching and has a strong portfolio.
Congratulations, Wei!
TAMU Experimental Economics Group Participates in 2016 TExAS Conference
From March 12 – 13, 2016, members of the TAMU experimental economics group presented at and attended the 2016 TExAS Conference at Rice University in Houston, TX.
Presenters this year included:
- Alex Brown: “Separated Decisions”
- Daniel Stephenson (5th year PhD student): “Coordination and Evolutionary Dynamics in Attacker-Defender Games”
- Wei Zhan (4th year PhD student): “Playing Both Roles in Dictator Games”
- Ada Kovaliukaite (3rd year PhD student): “Does an Individual Have Diverse Beliefs? Eliciting Subjects’ Predictions of How a Population Plays” (poster)
- Billur Aksoy (3rd year PhD student): “Measuring Trust: A Reinvestigation” (poster)
In addition to the presenters, a number of other PhD students and TAMU faculty members also attended.
The TExAS Conference was founded in 2014 by Dr. Brown, director of the ERL, as a way for experimentalists in Texas to collaborate with and learn from each other.