Classroom Games in Economics Tuvana Pastine Sept 19, 2014
Guessing Game Pick a natural number from 1 to 100: 1, 2, 3, …,100 AND THE WINNER IS: The number closest to 2/3 rd of the average of all guesses. For instance: If average of class= 90 winner is number closest to 90*(2/3)=60 If average of class is 18 winner is number closest to 18*(2/3)=12
What is the theoretical prediction? 100→66→44→29→...
1997 Financial Times Winner=15
Do people really behave as the theory predicts? Rationality Common Knowledge of Rationality
If not, what good is the theory?
Keynes’ Beauty Contest “The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money” (1936) Price Fluctuations in Equity Markets
Keynes’ Beauty Contest “It is not a case of choosing those which, to the best of one’s judgment, are really the prettiest, nor even those which average opinion genuinely thinks the prettiest...
Keynes’ Beauty Contest “... We have reached the third degree where we devote our intelligences to anticipating what average opinion expects the average opinion to be. And there are some, I believe, who practice the fourth, fifth and higher degrees.”
Greater Fool Theory You may be a fool to pay as much as you did, but you are betting that there’s a greater fool down the road. And if you’re right, then of course you aren’t being foolish.
Terminology: Rationaliy Common knowledge of rationality Keynes’ beauty contest Fundamental value and stock prices Greater fool theory
ranking-cute-animals-a-stock-market-experiment
Why Games True Learning Academic Evidence for: Higher Student and Teacher Satisfaction Weak Students versus Strong Students Girls versus Boys
Pit Market minutes students ah2k/pitmkttr.pdf supply, demand, consumer surplus, producer surplus, equilibrium price and quantity variations: sales tax, price ceiling