Graduate Student Seminar on Experimental Economics and Spontaneous OrdersApril 17 - 20, 2008 Arlington, Virginia
This April IFREE will sponsor a Graduate Student Seminar on Experimental Economics and Spontaneous Orders at George Mason University. The seminar will open with a reception on the evening of Thursday, April 17, followed by 7 two-hour sessions over the next two days. Sunday is a day for travel.
Each session consists of an economic experiment and Socratic roundtable discussion of readings drawn from David Hume, Adam Smith, Adam Ferguson, W. Stanley Jevons, F.A. Hayek, and research in experimental economics. Students will be expected to read all materials and participate fully in the discussions. The faculty will include Pete Boettke, Vernon Smith, Bart Wilson, and Rimvydas Baltaduonis.
It was the genius of the Scottish Enlightenment that observed and described the existence of a "natural" social, legal and economic order consisting of "establishments, which are indeed the result of human action but not the execution of any human design..." (Ferguson, An Essay on the History of Civil Society). The purpose of the seminar is to expose PhD students to the insights of the Scottish enlightenment and to introduce them to how experimental economics can inform our understanding of spontaneous orders.
The workshop is free to all participants, but students must provide their own transportation to and from the workshop. Local housing arrangements for out of town students are covered by a generous grant from IFREE. Each day students will participate in an experiment for cash. Thus, as part of their learning experience, participants must earn money to help recover their travel expenses. All students will also receive a stipend of $300. (Please note that all international students must receive approval from George Mason University's international student office in order to receive payments.)
*** The application deadline has passed. ***
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