About the Center
The Center for Behavioral and Experimental Economic Science is a venue for bringing together faculty and graduate students who meet the highest standards for experimental research on human behavior in economic settings. Although most economists focus on aggregates, such as markets, experimental economic research studies individual behavior that may differ from the behavior of aggregates. The Center features a newly designed, state-of-the-science laboratory with over 30 computers in both fixed and reconfigurable spaces for face-to-face and paper-pencil research. The Center also hosts seminars and workshops that bring together leading experimentalists in the social and behavioral sciences from the United States and other countries. Ultimately, the mission of the Center is to significantly advance the knowledge and understanding of the choices that people make in settings involving markets, negotiation, and trade and production relationships.
About the Director
Catherine Eckel obtained her Ph.D. from the University of Virginia. Eckel's research is in the area of experimental economics and concerns the effect of social interaction on economic exchange. Her work is interdisciplinary, incorporating concepts from psychology and sociology into economic research. She has published more than 30 papers in journals in economics and other fields.
Recent projects include: the effect of subsidies on charitable giving, measuring preferences (risk attitudes, patience, and pro-social orientation) using incentivized tasks, and discrimination by race and gender in games of trust. She also co-directs an ongoing teaching technology project developing interactive exercises for active learning in large classes via system of wireless handheld computers. This project has earned her two university-level teaching awards. Research projects are supported by grants from the National Science Foundation, the Aspen Foundation, the Andrew Mellon Foundation, and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.