List John A
Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Maryland, 2200 Symons Hall, College Park 20742-5535, USA.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2002 Nov 26;99(24):15827-30. doi: 10.1073/pnas.202602999. Epub 2002 Nov 13.
This study presents results from a pilot field experiment that tests predictions of competitive market theory. A major advantage of this particular field experimental design is that my laboratory is the marketplace: subjects are engaged in buying, selling, and trading activities whether I run an exchange experiment or am a passive observer. In this sense, I am gathering data in a natural environment while still maintaining the necessary control to execute a clean comparison between treatments. The main results of the study fall into two categories. First, the competitive model predicts reasonably well in some market treatments: the expected price and quantity levels are approximated in many market rounds. Second, the data suggest that market composition is important: buyer and seller experience levels impact not only the distribution of rents but also the overall level of rents captured. An unexpected result in this regard is that average market efficiency is lowest in markets that match experienced buyers and experienced sellers and highest when experienced buyers engage in bargaining with inexperienced sellers. Together, these results suggest that both market experience and market composition play an important role in the equilibrium discovery process.
本研究展示了一项试点实地实验的结果，该实验检验了竞争性市场理论的预测。这种特定实地实验设计的一个主要优势在于，我的实验室就是市场：无论我是进行交易实验还是作为被动观察者，受试者都参与买卖和交易活动。从这个意义上说，我在自然环境中收集数据，同时仍保持必要的控制，以便在不同处理之间进行清晰的比较。该研究的主要结果分为两类。第一，竞争模型在某些市场处理中预测得相当不错：在许多市场轮次中，预期的价格和数量水平都能得到近似。第二，数据表明市场构成很重要：买卖双方的经验水平不仅影响租金的分配，还影响所获取租金的总体水平。在这方面一个意外的结果是，在经验丰富的买家与经验丰富的卖家匹配的市场中，平均市场效率最低，而当经验丰富的买家与经验不足的卖家进行讨价还价时，平均市场效率最高。总之，这些结果表明，市场经验和市场构成在均衡发现过程中都起着重要作用。
