“Behavioral experiments” in economics

Behavioral economics has grown significantly in importance and prevalence within the economics profession over the last couple of decades. Most economics departments now include researchers conducting behavioral research, and most economics journals regularly publish behavioral work. Behavioral economics is generally defined as using evidence and constructs from neighboring social sciences, especially about limits on computation, willpower, and self-interest, to inform economic analysis (e.g., Camerer and Loewenstein, 2003). While many of these constructs come from psychology, other social sciences have much to contribute as well (see Weber and Dawes, 2005). For instance, anthropological research has provided important insights into the understanding of how social institutions and interactions shape strategic behavior (see Henrich et al., 2001).