3 credits
Spring 2026 Lecture Upper Division
This course will explore how experiments are used in economics to test economic theory, understand behavior, and evaluate new policies. Focusing on recent research, we read research papers on a variety of policy topics including labor market discrimination, payday lending, organ transplantation, media censorship, and voting. Applying the concepts from class, students will identify their own original research questions and design new experiments.
Learning Outcomes1Explain why experiments are considered the gold standard for establishing causal inference, including their key features and limitations.
2Identify the key elements of any economic experiment and evaluate design choices.
3Generate original research questions that can be answered with an experiment.
4Design novel experiments to test hypotheses.
Prerequisites
Restrictions
made by Purdue students.