The social side of human economic behaviour

Experimental economics can shed light on the “social side” of human economic behaviour, according to Professor Simon Gächter, who will share his views in next week’s “What if Wednesdays” lecture at the University of Canterbury.

“With examples from labour market behaviour, I will show how laboratory and field experiments can be used to understand how real people behave - not just economists - and how experiments can be used to predict what we should observe in relevant, naturally occurring situations.”

Professor Gächter, from the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom, is calling his 8 August lecture “What if we could predict human behaviour in labour markets?”

It is the seventh lecture in UC’s free public series as well as the New Zealand Experimental Economics Laboratory’s (NZEEL) Distinguished Lecture, an annual event promoting experimental economics.

NZEEL Director Dr Maroš Servátka said Professor Gächter’s lecture would help promote the existence of the research facility, a state-of-the-art, nationally unique facility based at the University of Canterbury.

“We’re very keen to spread the word of our existence - who we are, what we do and, hopefully, to create mutually beneficial research synergies.

“We believe that the NZEEL and the UC Experimental Economics Group may be a huge asset to various industries and government agencies in addressing open policy questions.”

Professor Gächter is currently a Professor of Psychology of Economic Decision Making at the University of Nottingham. He received his doctorate in economics in Vienna and, before moving to Nottingham, worked at Vienna, Linz, Zurich and St Gallen universities.

He is affiliated to the CESifo network (Munich) and the Institute for the Study of Labour (IZA Bonn).

Who: Professor Simon Gächter, Professor of the Psychology of Economic Decision Making, University of Nottingham.
When: Wednesday 8 August, 6.30pm-8pm
Where: Undercroft, James Hight Building, University of Canterbury, Christchurch

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