2016 AAEA Annual Meeting EXECON Pre-Conference Workshop

Marriott Copley Place, Boston, MA
July 30, 2016, 1.00 PM to 5.00 PM
The “How-To” of Experimental Economics in Agricultural, Environmental & Applied Research
Organized by: Carola Grebitus (Arizona State University), Matthew Rousu (Susquehanna University)
Organizing Committee: Jay Corrigan (Kenyon College), Gregory Colson (University of Georgia)

Program

Hosted by the new Experimental Economics Section, the objective of this AAEA Pre-conference workshop is to teach attendees how to run economic experiments. The primary purpose is to contribute to the attendees’ understanding of the research methods and tools for using experimental economics to analyze individual decision-making. The workshop program includes three speakers who will help provide the nuts-and-bolts details of running an experiment. Topics include:

• What type of subject pool should one consider?
• How much in incentives should be provided, and how to recruit participants?
• How to handle difficult participants?
• What is IRB and why is it important?
• Does everything you tell participants have to be truthful?
• How to combine “standard” methods, such as auctions or choice experiments, with novel methods, such as eye tracking?
• How does an experiment including eye tracking differ from a “normal” experiment?
• How to collect and analyze data with eye tracking?

Schedule

1.00pm-2.00pm: “I want to run an experiment but haven’t done it before: How do I begin?” Matthew Rousu, Susquehanna University
2.00pm-3.00pm: “I want to incorporate eye tracking in my experiment! Now what?” Carola Grebitus, Arizona State University
3.00pm-4.00pm: “Field Experiments in Agri-Environmental Research” Kent Messer, University of Delaware
4.00pm-5.00pm: Open discussion, networking

Workshop Fee is $25, including beverages. Pre-registration is required.

Workshop stipends: Thanks to the USDA Center for Behavioral and Experimental AgriEnvironmental Policy Research (C-BEAR) we are able to provide 10 graduate students and young professionals with $200 travel stipends each! In addition, we will provide 20 graduate students and young professionals with registration fee waivers. To apply, submit one paragraph (no more than 200 words) explaining why you should be considered for the stipend and/ or waiver to Carola Grebitus: carola.grebitus@asu.edu; Subject: “EXECON Pre-Conference Workshop.” Deadline for submissions is May 30, 2016.

About the Speakers

Carola Grebitus
Carola Grebitus is an Assistant Professor in the Morrison School of Agribusiness at Arizona State University. Carola’s research is focused on modeling consumers’ food choices in general, and consumers’ decision strategies in particular. She has worked extensively on determinants of consumer behavior, purchase decision making, and food quality from consumers’ perspective. Her current research includes consumer preferences for local food, urban agriculture, and sustainable (food) products; willingness to pay for new technologies; and the influence of food labeling on purchase decisions. Furthermore, she investigates the role of social networks on adoption of genomics and healthy food choices. In her research Carola applies a variety of methods ranging from auctions and choice experiments to eye tracking and taste tests. To date she has published about thirty peer-reviewed journal articles.

Kent Messer
Kent D. Messer is the Unidel H. Cosgrove Chair for the Environment & Director of the University of Delaware’s Center for Experimental & Applied Economics. With a background in resource policy & resource economics, Messer’s interests lie in using behavioral economics to understand a number of environmental issues, with active research on environmental conservation, public goods provision and behavioral response to risk. Messer has been invited to present at a variety of agricultural and economic professional groups, and has publications in top resource economic journals (e.g., Land Economics, Journal of Conservation Planning, American Journal of Agricultural Economics).

Matthew Rousu
Matthew Rousu is a Professor and Warehime Chair in the Department of Economics at Susquehanna University. His main teaching interests include microeconomics, political economic thought, and game theory. Matt is an expert on experimental auction design and implementation. He uses his expertise on experimental auctions to study problems in agricultural economics, environmental economics, and public health. He has published about 50 scholarly articles, as well as book chapters, non-technical articles and Op-eds. Matt has been quoted widely on many issues by The Chicago Tribune, Forbes, The NY Daily News, The Philadelphia Inquirer, US News and World Report, The Washington Post, Wikipedia, and Yahoo.com.

Our Sponsor

Center for Behavioral & Experimental Agri-Environmental Research (CBEAR)
The Center for Behavioral & Experimental Agri-Environmental Research (CBEAR) is a consortium of researchers from major research and land-grant universities that applies the science of behavioral economics to understand the values and decision-making processes of farmers, ranchers, and landowners (USDA’s customers). Drawing on insights from behavioral economics, CBEAR helps USDA program administrators adapt their program designs. The adapted programs designs are then rigorously tested through randomized controlled trials in the field. The end result is evidence-based program designs that achieve greater levels of participation, satisfaction with the programs, and improved environmental outcomes… all while reducing program costs.

BACKGROUND
CBEAR’s mission is to apply behavioral insights and experimental designs to improve programs related to agriculture and the environment. CBEAR was established in 2014 by a competitive grant from the USDA Economic Research Service.

For more information about CBEAR go to: www.centerbear.org