Perceived characteristics of thin markets are described and approaches to furthering their study are suggested. Design features of a laboratory thin market, patterned after a typical livestock marketing situation, are described. Price bias and variation from a "thick" private negotiation market...

This simple classroom experiment demonstrates many of the behavioral phenomena associated with the voluntary provision of a public good. The mechanics of the game are explained in detail and complete instructions are provided, as well as suggestions for follow-up lectures. Influences such as...

We argue that economic laboratory experiments can facilitate active learning of theory in the agricultural economics curriculum by placing students in decision-making roles. Three types of experimental protocols are described, along with a discussion of the costs and benefits of experiments. The...

We examine the distribution of welfare from the introduction of Bt cotton in the United States in 1996. The welfare framework explicitly recognizes that research protected by intellectual property rights generates monopoly profits, and makes it possible to partition these rents among consumers,...

This series of papers is an excellent opportunity to reacquaint agricultural economists in the Southern region with the exciting field of experimental economics and is indeed opportune in light of the recent awarding of the Nobel Prize in Economics to Vernon Smith, considered by many to be the...

Ninety-five consumers in seven grocery stores tasted unidentified peeled sections of three mandarins (a tangerine, a satsuma, and a clementine), and provided demographic and purchase information. Forty-four percent of the respondents preferred tangerines, 34 percent satsumas, and 22 percent...

We argue that economic laboratory experiments can facilitate active learning of theory in the agricultural economics curriculum by placing students in decision-making roles. Three types of experimental protocols are described, along with a discussion of the costs and benefits of experiments. The...

A new product, marinated, breaded catfish nuggets, was developed. This conjoint study was designed to evaluate consumers’ preferences for certain attributes of the nuggets. An in-store survey was conducted to collect data. The data collected will be used to determine the market potential for...

Reviewers of manuscripts on classroom experiments often ask the authors to provide evidence of the effectiveness of the method, presumably to justify substituting experiments for lectures. After reviewing the current state of evaluation methodology, we argue that such evidence may be neither...