Experimental economics and the artificiality of alteration
Experimental economics and the artificiality of alteration
A neglected critique of social science laboratories alleges that they implement phenomena different to those supposedly under investigation. This charge was previously made against laboratory social psychology but applies also to the economics lab. The critique purports to be conceptual and so invulnerable to a technical solution. I argue that, in addition to questioning some specific experiments seeking to implement features of real societies, it constitutes a plausible argument that laboratory economics experiments are necessarily less demonstrative than natural scientific ones. More radical sceptical conclusions are unwarranted.
artificiality, experiments
239-251
Bardsley, Nicholas
4cc36030-2783-4def-a06f-9f2aee92663e
2005
Bardsley, Nicholas
4cc36030-2783-4def-a06f-9f2aee92663e
Bardsley, Nicholas
(2005)
Experimental economics and the artificiality of alteration.
Journal of Economic Methodology, 12 (2), .
(doi:10.1080/13501780500086115).
Abstract
A neglected critique of social science laboratories alleges that they implement phenomena different to those supposedly under investigation. This charge was previously made against laboratory social psychology but applies also to the economics lab. The critique purports to be conceptual and so invulnerable to a technical solution. I argue that, in addition to questioning some specific experiments seeking to implement features of real societies, it constitutes a plausible argument that laboratory economics experiments are necessarily less demonstrative than natural scientific ones. More radical sceptical conclusions are unwarranted.
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Published date: 2005
Keywords:
artificiality, experiments
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Local EPrints ID: 35306
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/35306
ISSN: 1350-178X
PURE UUID: ba6a3bf8-bb21-499d-8cd0-69bee3441d68
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Date deposited: 15 May 2006
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 07:51
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Author:
Nicholas Bardsley
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