Skip to main content

Part of the book series: The New Palgrave Economics Collection ((NPHE))

Abstract

Experimental macroeconomics is a subfield of experimental economics that makes use of controlled laboratory methods to understand aggregate economic phenomena and to test the specific assumptions and predictions of macroeconomic models. Surveys of experimental macroeconomics are found in Ochs (1995), Duffy (1998) and Ricciuti (2004). Macroeconomic topics that have been studied in the laboratory include convergence to Walrasian competitive equilibrium (Lian and Plott, 1998), growth and development (Lei and Noussair, 2002; Capra et al, 2005), specialization and trade (Noussair, Plot and Riezman, 1995), Keynesian coordination failures (Cooper, 1999; Van Huyck, Battalio and Beil, 1990), the use of money as a medium of exchange (Brown, 1996; Duffy and Ochs, 1999; 2002) and as a store of value (McCabe, 1989; Lim, Prescott and Sunder, 1994; Marimon and Sunder, 1993; 1994), exchange rate determination (Arifovic, 1996; Noussair, Plot and Riezman, 1997), money illusion (Fehr and Tyran, 2001), asset price bubbles and crashes (Smith, Suchanek and Williams, 1988; Lei, Noussair and Plott, 2001; Hommes et al, 2005) sunspots (Marimon, Spear and Sunder, 1993; Duffy and Fisher, 2005), bank runs (Schotter and Yorulmazer, 2003; Garratt and Keister, 2005), contagions (Corbae and Duffy, 2006), speculative currency attacks (Heinemann, Nagel and Ockenfels, 2004), and the economic impact of various fiscal and monetary policies (Riedl and Van Winden, 2001; Arifovic and Sargent, 2003; Marimon and Sunder, 1994; Bernasconi and Kirchkamp, 2000).

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 64.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 129.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Bibliography

  • Adam, K. 2007. Experimental evidence on the persistence of output and inflation. Economic Journal 117, 603–36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arifovic, J. 1996. The behavior of the exchange rate in the genetic algorithm and experimental economies. Journal of Political Economy 104, 510–41.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arifovic, J. and Sargent, T.J. 2003. Laboratory experiments with an expectational Phillips curve. In Evolution and Procedures in Central Banking, ed. D.E. Altig and B.D. Smith. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bernasconi, M. and Kirchkamp, O. 2000. Why do monetary policies matter? An experimental study of saving and inflation in an overlapping generations model. Journal of Monetary Economics 46, 315–43.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bernasconi, M., Kirchkamp, O. and Paruolo, P. 2004. Do fiscal variables affect fiscal expectations? Experiments with real world and lab data. SPF 504 Discussion Paper No. 04–26: University of Mannheim.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, P.M. 1996. Experimental evidence on money as a medium of exchange. Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control 20, 583–600.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Capra, C.M., Tanaka, T., Camerer, C.F., Munyan, L., Sovero, V., Wang, L. and Noussair, C. 2005. The impact of simple institutions in experimental economies with poverty traps. Working paper.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cason, T.N. and Friedman, D. 1997. Price formation in single call markets. Econometrica 65, 311–45.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cooper, R.W. 1999. Coordination Games. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Corbae, D. and Duffy, J. 2006. Experiments with network formation. Working paper.

    Google Scholar 

  • Duffy, J. 1998. Monetary theory in the laboratory. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Economic Review 80, 9–26.

    Google Scholar 

  • Duffy, J. and Fisher, E.O.N. 2005. Sunspots in the laboratory. American Economic Review 95, 510–29.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duffy, J. and Ochs, J. 1999. Emergence of money as a medium of exchange: an experimental study. American Economic Review 89, 847–77.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duffy, J. and Ochs, J. 2002. Intrinsically worthless objects as media of exchange: experimental evidence. International Economic Review 43, 637–73.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duffy, J. and Ãœnver, U. 2006. Asset price bubbles and crashes with near-zero-intelligence traders. Economic Theory 27, 537–63.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dufwenberg, M., Lindqviist, T. and Moore, E. 2005. Bubbles and experience: an experiment. American Economic Review 95, 1731–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fehr, E. and Tyran, J.-F. 2001. Does money illusion matter? American Economic Review 91, 1239–62.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Forsythe, R., Palfrey, T.R. and Plott, C.R. 1982. Asset valuation in an experimental market. Econometrica 58, 537–68.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Friedman, D. and Rust, J. 1991. The Double Auction Market: Institutions, Theories and Evidence. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Garratt, R. and Keister, T. 2005. Bank runs: an experimental study. Working paper, University of California, Santa Barbara.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gode, D.K. and Sunder, S. 1993. Allocative efficiency of markets with zero intelligence traders: market as a partial substitute for individual rationality. Journal of Political Economy 101, 119–37.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heinemann, F., Nagel, R. and Ockenfels, P. 2004. The theory of global games on test: experimental analysis of coordination games with public and private information. Econometrica 72, 1583–99.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hommes, C.H., Sonnemans, J., Tuinstra, J. and van de Velden, H. 2005. Coordination of expectations in asset pricing experiments. Review of Financial Studies 18, 955–80.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lei, V. and Noussair, C.N. 2002. An experimental test of an optimal growth model. American Economic Review 92, 549–70.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lei, V., Noussair, C.N. and Plott, C.R. 2001. Nonspeculative bubbles in experimental asset markets: lack of common knowledge of rationality vs. actual irrationality. Econometrica 69, 831–59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lian, P. and Plott, C.R. 1998. General equilibrium, markets, macroeconomics and money in a laboratory experimental environment. Economic Theory 12, 21–75.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lim, S.S., Prescott, E.C. and Sunder, S. 1994. Stationary solution to the overlapping generations model of fiat money: experimental evidence. Empirical Economics 19, 255–77.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lucas, R.E. 1986. Adaptive behavior and economic theory. Journal of Business 59, S401–S426.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marimon, R., Spear, S.E. and Sunder, S. 1993. Expectationally driven market volatility: an experimental study. Journal of Economic Theory 61, 74–103.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marimon, R. and Sunder, S. 1993. Indeterminacy of equilibria in a hyperinflationary world: experimental evidence. Econometrica 61, 1073–107.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marimon, R. and Sunder, S. 1994. Expectations and learning under alternative monetary regimes: an experimental approach. Economic Theory 4, 131–62.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marimon, R. and Sunder, S. 1995. Does a constant money growth rule help stabilize inflation? Experimental evidence. Carnegie-Rochester Conference Series on Public Policy 43, 111–56.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCabe, K.A. 1989. Fiat money as a store of value in an experimental market. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization 12, 215–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Noussair, C.N. and Matheny, K.J. 2000. An experimental study of decisions in dynamic optimization problems. Economic Theory 15, 389–419.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Noussair, C.N., Plott, C.R. and Riezman, R.G. 1995. An experimental investigation of the patterns of international trade. American Economic Review 85, 462–91.

    Google Scholar 

  • Noussair, C.N., Plott, C.R. and Riezman, R.G. 1997. The principles of exchange rate determination in an international financial experiment. Journal of Political Economy 105, 822–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ochs, J. 1995. Coordination problems. In The Handbook of Experimental Economics, ed. J.H. Kagel and A.E. Roth. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Plott, C.R. and Sunder, S. 1982. Efficiency of experimental security markets with insider information: an application of rational-expectations models. Journal of Political Economy 90, 663–98.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ricciuti, R. 2004. Bringing macroeconomics into the lab. Working paper No. 26, International Centre for Economic Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Riedl, A. and van Winden, F. 2001. Does the wage tax system cause budget deficits? A macro-economic experiment. Public Choice 109, 371–94.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schotter, A. and Yorulmazer, T. 2003. On the severity of bank runs: an experimental study. Working paper, Center for Experimental Social Science, New York University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, V.L. 1962. An experimental study of competitive market behavior. Journal of Political Economy 70, 111–37.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, V.L., Suchanek, G.L. and Williams, A.W. 1988. Bubbles, crashes, and endogenous expectations in experimental spot asset markets. Econometrica 56, 1119–51.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sunder. 1995. Experimental asset markets: a survey. In The Handbook of Experimental Economics, ed. J.H. Kagel and A.E. Roth. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Huyck, J.B., Battalio, R.C. and Beil, R.O. 1990. Tacit coordination games, strategic uncertainty, and coordination failure. American Economic Review 80, 234–48.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Copyright information

© 2010 Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Duffy, J. (2010). experimental macroeconomics. In: Durlauf, S.N., Blume, L.E. (eds) Behavioural and Experimental Economics. The New Palgrave Economics Collection. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230280786_15

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics