Microeconomic Systems as an Experimental Scienceby Vernon Smith The experimental literature contains only a few attempts to articulate a "theory" of laboratory experiments in economics (Charles Plott, 1979; Louis Wilde, 1980; my articles, 1976a, pp. 43-44, 46-47; 1976b; 1980). It is appropriate for this effort to have been modest, since it has been more important for experimentalists to present a rich variety of examples of their work than abstract explanations of why one might perform experiments. Wilde's contribution provides an integration and extension of earlier papers, and brings a fresh perspective and coherence that invites further examination. This seems to be the time and place to attempt a more complete description of the methodology and function of experiments in microeconomics.
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