📚 IB & Edexcel Economics: A Practical Guide to Classroom Experiments | IB 与爱德思经济：课堂实验操作指南
Economics experiments bring abstract theories to life by letting students act as buyers, sellers, or decision-makers in controlled scenarios. This guide provides a step-by-step approach to designing, running, and evaluating classroom experiments that align with IB and Edexcel A-Level Economics specifications, covering markets, game theory, behavioural economics, and market failure.
经济学实验通过让学生扮演买家、卖家或决策者，在受控情境中将抽象理论具体化。本指南提供了一套分步方法，用以设计、实施和评估与 IB 及爱德思 A-Level 经济学课程纲要相契合的课堂实验，内容涵盖市场、博弈论、行为经济学与市场失灵。
1. Introduction to Economics Experiments | 经济学实验简介
Economics experiments are structured activities in which participants make choices with real or hypothetical payoffs. They test predictions of economic models under controlled conditions, revealing how people actually behave rather than how theory assumes they behave. Since the pioneering work of Vernon Smith, experimental methods have become a cornerstone of behavioural economics and a powerful teaching tool.
经济学实验是一种结构化的活动，参与者要在真实或假想的报酬下作出选择。它们在受控条件下检验经济模型的预测，揭示人们实际如何表现，而非理论假设他们如何表现。自弗农·史密斯开创性地工作以来，实验方法已成为行为经济学的基石，也是一种有力的教学工具。
2. Why Use Experiments in IB & Edexcel Economics? | 为什么在 IB 和爱德思经济学中使用实验？
Both IB Economics (Standard and Higher Level) and Edexcel Economics A include topics that benefit directly from experimental learning. In Microeconomics, market experiments can demonstrate how equilibrium price and quantity emerge. In Market Failure, public goods games illustrate the free-rider problem. Behavioural Economics units in both specifications explore concepts such as bounded rationality, anchoring, and social preferences — all of which can be brought to life through experiments. Edexcel’s Theme 1 and Theme 3, along with IB’s Unit 2.10 and 2.11, explicitly reference behavioural insights that experiments can reinforce.
IB 经济学（标准与高级）和爱德思经济学 A 均包含可直接受益于实验学习的主题。在微观经济学中，市场实验可以展示均衡价格与数量是如何产生的。在市场失灵部分，公共品博弈能说明“搭便车”问题。两种课程体系中的行为经济学单元都探讨了有限理性、锚定效应和社会偏好等概念——这些全可通过实验变得生动。爱德思的主题 1 和主题 3，以及 IB 的单元 2.10 和 2.11，都明确提及了可通过实验强化的行为洞见。
3. Key Concepts: Games and Markets | 核心概念：博弈与市场
Before designing an experiment, it helps to familiarise yourself with the core types. A market experiment, such as a double oral auction, allows students to trade a fictitious good, generating supply and demand curves step by step. A game experiment uses strategic interaction: in a prisoner’s dilemma, choices to cooperate or defect show how individual incentives can lead to collectively poor outcomes. Other useful setups are ultimatum games, dictator games, trust games, and common-pool resource dilemmas.
在设计实验之前，先熟悉核心类型会很有帮助。市场实验，比如双向口头拍卖，让学生交易一种虚拟商品，逐步生成供给与需求曲线。博弈实验则利用策略互动：在囚徒困境中，合作或背叛的选择显示出个人激励如何导致集体不利的结果。其他有用的设置还包括最后通牒博弈、独裁者博弈、信任博弈以及公共池塘资源困境。
4. Design Principles for Classroom Experiments | 课堂实验的设计原则
An effective economics experiment needs clear instructions, a reward structure tied to performance, and a protocol that allows students to understand cause and effect. Incentives should be linked to course points, sweets, or nominal cash, but even hypothetical earnings can work if students take decisions seriously. Anonymity matters: using number cards or online platforms removes peer pressure. Keep the design simple — the goal is to isolate one economic principle, such as excess supply or the tragedy of the commons, without adding unnecessary complexity.
有效的经济学实验需要清晰的指令、与表现挂钩的报酬结构，以及一套能让学生理解因果关系的规程。激励可与课程分数、糖果或象征性现金挂钩，但如果学生认真对待，假想收益同样能奏效。匿名性很重要：使用数字卡片或在线平台可消除同伴压力。保持设计简单——目标在于隔离某个经济原理，比如超额供给或公地悲剧，而无需增加不必要的复杂性。
5. Step-by-Step Guide to Running an Experiment | 实验操作的分步指南
Step 1 — Define the learning objective: State which concept the experiment will illustrate (e.g., price convergence to equilibrium).
第 1 步——界定学习目标：说明实验将阐明哪个概念（如价格向均衡收敛）。
Step 2 — Prepare materials: Print role cards, instruction sheets, and record sheets. Decide whether to run a manual experiment with paper slips or use digital tools such as MobLab, VeconLab, or Google Sheets templates.
第 2 步——准备材料：打印角色卡、指令表和记录表。决定是使用纸笔进行人工实验，还是采用数字工具，如 MobLab、VeconLab 或 Google 表格模板。
Step 3 — Brief participants: Read instructions aloud and run a practice round. Clarify that there is no ‘right’ answer; honest preferences matter.
第 3 步——向参与者说明：大声朗读指令并进行一轮练习。澄清不存在“正确”答案；真实的偏好才是关键。
Step 4 — Conduct the experiment with multiple rounds: Most classroom experiments need at least three to five trading periods for patterns to emerge. Record transaction prices or decisions after each round.
第 4 步——通过多轮进行实验：大多数课堂实验至少需要三到五个交易周期，模式才会出现。每轮结束后记录交易价格或决策。
Step 5 — Debrief and link to theory: Show aggregated data on the board, draw supply-demand diagrams, or calculate averages. Ask students why the outcomes occurred and whether they match the theoretical prediction.
第 5 步——回顾并与理论衔接：在板上展示汇总数据，绘制供需图或计算平均值。询问学生为何出现这些结果，以及它们是否与理论预测相符。
6. Example 1: The Market Experiment (Double Oral Auction) | 示例 1：市场实验（双向口头拍卖）
Assign half the class as buyers with different maximum willingness-to-pay values and the other half as sellers with different minimum acceptable prices. Buyers earn profit equal to [willingness-to-pay – price]; sellers earn [price – cost]. Trades occur when a buyer and seller agree on a price. Over multiple rounds, the average price typically converges to the competitive equilibrium price predicted by the intersection of the market demand and supply curves. This experiment directly supports IB Unit 2.3 (Competitive market equilibrium) and Edexcel Theme 1.2 (How markets work).
将一半学生分配为买家，各自有不同的最高支付意愿；另一半为卖家，各自有不同的最低可接受价格。买家的利润等于 [支付意愿 – 价格]；卖家赚取 [价格 – 成本]。当买家与卖家就价格达成一致时交易便完成。经过多轮，均价通常会向市场需求与供给曲线交点所预测的竞争均衡价格收敛。本实验直接支持 IB 单元 2.3（竞争市场均衡）和爱德思主题 1.2（市场如何运作）。
| Role (角色) | Value/Cost (价值/成本) | Profit formula (利润公式) |
|---|---|---|
| Buyer (买家) | WTP | WTP − Price paid |
| Seller (卖家) | Cost | Price received − Cost |
7. Example 2: Public Goods Game | 示例 2：公共品博弈
Give each student a fixed number of tokens (e.g., 10). They can allocate tokens between a private account that pays 1 point per token to themselves, and a group account that pays 0.5 points per token to every member of the group. The group account represents a public good: it benefits everyone, but the individual return is less than the cost. The Nash equilibrium prediction is full free-riding (zero contribution), but experiments typically find around 40–60% contribution rates, which decline with repetition unless communication or punishment is allowed.
给每位学生固定数量的代币（如 10 个）。他们可将代币在私人账户与集体账户之间分配；私人账户每枚代币给自己带来 1 点收益，集体账户每枚代币给组内每位成员带来 0.5 点收益。集体账户代表公共品：它使所有人受益，但个人回报低于成本。纳什均衡预测是完全搭便车（零贡献），但实验通常发现大约 40%–60% 的贡献率，且除非允许沟通或惩罚，该比率会随重复而下降。
This game directly illustrates the free-rider problem featured in IB Unit 2.8 (Market failure—public goods) and Edexcel Theme 1.3 (Market failure). It also opens discussion of behavioural motives such as conditional cooperation and altruism.
该博弈直接展示了 IB 单元 2.8（市场失灵——公共品）和爱德思主题 1.3（市场失灵）中的搭便车问题，也为讨论条件合作与利他主义等行为动机打开了话题。
8. Example 3: Ultimatum Game and Fairness | 示例 3：最后通牒博弈与公平
Pair students as proposer and responder. The proposer suggests how to split a fixed sum (say, 10 units) and the responder accepts or rejects the offer. If rejected, both get nothing. Standard theory predicts the proposer offers the smallest positive amount and the responder accepts. In reality, offers below around 30% are frequently rejected, demonstrating that fairness and social norms influence economic decisions. This experiment connects with IB HL Behavioural economics (loss aversion, social preferences) and Edexcel Theme 1.4 (Behavioural economics – bounded self-interest).
将学生配对为提议者与回应者。提议者建议如何分配一笔固定金额（例如 10 单位），回应者接受或拒绝该提议。若遭拒绝，两人都一无所获。标准理论预测提议者给出最小正值，回应者会接受。现实中，低于大约 30% 的提议经常被拒绝，这表明公平感和社会规范会影响经济决策。本实验可与 IB HL 行为经济学（损失厌恶、社会偏好）以及爱德思主题 1.4（行为经济学——有限自利）相联系。
9. Example 4: Lemon Market (Adverse Selection) | 示例 4：柠檬市场（逆向选择）
Create a market where sellers know the quality of their item (high or low) but buyers only know the distribution of qualities. Sellers can choose to offer their item for sale; buyers bid a single price for a randomly matched item. High-quality sellers exit when the market price falls below their reservation value, driving average quality down — the adverse selection spiral. This experiment vividly demonstrates asymmetric information, which appears in IB Unit 2.8 (Market failure—information asymmetry) and Edexcel Theme 1.3 (Information gaps).
创设一个市场，其中卖家知晓自己商品的质量（高或低），而买家仅了解质量分布。卖家可选择出售商品；买家对随机匹配的商品报出统一价格。当市价低于保留价值时，高质量卖家退出，拉低平均质量——这就是逆向选择螺旋。该实验生动地展示了不对称信息，这出现在 IB 单元 2.8（市场失灵——信息不对称）和爱德思主题 1.3（信息缺口）之中。
10. Data Analysis and Linking to Theory | 数据分析与理论衔接
After the experiment, aggregate the data and display them clearly. For a market experiment, plot a histogram of transaction prices alongside the theoretical supply and demand curves. Calculate the mean price, price variance, and efficiency (actual total surplus / maximum possible surplus). For game experiments, compute cooperation rates, rejection frequencies, or average contributions and compare them with theoretical predictions using simple spreadsheet functions. Highlight any deviations and discuss why they might have occurred, referencing behavioural economics concepts such as framing effects, reciprocity, or herd behaviour.
实验结束后，汇总数据并清晰地展示。对市场实验，绘制交易价格直方图，并附上理论供需曲线。计算均价、价格方差和效率（实际总剩余/最大可能剩余）。对博弈实验，计算合作率、拒绝频率或平均贡献，并用简单的电子表格函数与理论预测进行比较。突出任何偏差，并讨论它们可能为何发生，引用行为经济学概念，如框架效应、互惠性或羊群行为。
This process develops quantitative skills required by both IB (internal assessment data analysis and evaluation) and Edexcel (quantitative skills for data interpretation), reinforcing the link between evidence and economic reasoning.
这一过程培养 IB（内部评估数据分析与评价）和爱德思（数据解释的量化技能）所要求的量化能力，强化证据与经济推理之间的联系。
11. Common Pitfalls and Ethical Considerations | 常见陷阱与伦理考量
Students may treat the experiment as a game without economic meaning; to avoid this, emphasise that the payoffs represent real economic incentives and link the activity explicitly to the syllabus. Over-complexity is another pitfall — an experiment with too many rules obscures the concept you wish to illustrate. In terms of ethics, ensure voluntary participation and avoid using real grades as stakes if it creates excessive stress. Debriefing is essential: explain how anonymity was preserved and that all behaviours are normal, preventing any discomfort from being labelled a ‘free rider’ or ‘selfish’.
学生可能把实验视作没有经济学含义的游戏；为避免这一点，要强调报酬代表真实的经济激励，并将活动明确与课程大纲挂钩。过度复杂则是另一个陷阱——规则太多的实验会模糊你希望阐明的概念。伦理方面，要确保自愿参与，如果使用真实成绩作为赌注会造成过大压力则应避免。回顾说明不可或缺：解释匿名性是如何保持的，以及所有行为都是正常的，防止因被贴上“搭便车”或“自私”的标签而产生不适。
12. Conclusion: Enhancing Learning through Experiments | 结论：通过实验增进学习
Classroom economics experiments transform passive note-taking into active discovery. They allow IB and Edexcel students to experience market dynamics, strategic interdependence, and behavioural anomalies first-hand. When well-designed and thoughtfully debriefed, experiments deepen understanding of core models, foster critical evaluation of theoretical assumptions, and make abstract concepts memorable. Integrating experiments into regular teaching need not be costly or time-consuming; even a simple pen-and-paper exercise can spark curiosity and improve examination performance on topics ranging from equilibrium price to the public goods problem.
课堂经济学实验将被动记笔记转变为主动发现。它们让 IB 和爱德思的学生亲身体验市场动态、策略相互依赖以及行为异常。经过精心设计和周密回顾，实验能加深对核心模型的理解，培养对理论假设的批判性评估，并使抽象概念难以忘怀。将实验融入常规教学无需高昂成本或大量时间；即使一个简单的纸笔练习也能激发好奇心，并提升从均衡价格到公共品问题等主题的考试成绩。
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