What are the research topics in this area?
Strategic decision making plays a role in most economic interactions, for example in negotiations, in oligopoly markets, and in organisations. In Behavioural Economics, theories of economically relevant human behaviour are developed, which often incorporate insights from psychology and other fields of research. These theories are tested experimentally and refined in the light of the observed behaviour. At the University of Konstanz, we are particularly interested in social preferences, collective choice, bounded rationality, and cognitive processes in economic decision-making.
Why is the University of Konstanz particularly strong in this area?
Our group, which is one of the largest at the department, has written many influential research papers. A recent example is an experimental study to investigate (dis)honesty. The experimental design, which was developed for this study, has already been used in hundreds of other studies. Moreover, we have an excellent infrastructure for conducting economics experiments in Konstanz and we are developing the cutting-edge experiment software for computerised experiments z-Tree.
To what extent are the topics socially relevant?
Our group of experimental economists studies questions related to the provision of public goods, honesty and group decisions, amongst many other topics. Our findings help to develop better policy measures and institutions.
How well is the group connected with the research community?
The group is part of the interdisciplinary Graduate School of the Social and Behavioural Sciences (GSBS), in which psychologists, economists and political scientists collaborate. In addition, there are many partnerships with economists, psychologists, political scientists and sociologists at other universities in Germany and abroad. Moreover, the group regularly hosts workshops and an annual conference, the Thurgau Experimental Economics Meeting (THEEM), which brings leading scholars in the field to Konstanz every year. There is a regular research seminar with internal discussions and guest presentations.