ARC: Community: ELMAR: Posting

areas: cb: event

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Dear Colleagues,

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 3 two-hour sessions on both Friday and Saturday. Sunday, April 20, is a day for travel.

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.

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, Rimvydas Baltaduonis, and myself.

The workshop is free to all participants, but students must provide their own transportation to and from the workshop. Local housing arrangements 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.)

To apply, follow the link here: http://ices.gmu.edu/subcategory.php/106.html.

All applications received by February 15, 2008 will be considered. After that, applications will be considered as space allows.

Please forward this to any interested faculty or students, and thanks for your interest.

Best regards,
Bart Wilson

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Bart J. Wilson
Interdisciplinary Center for Economic Science
George Mason University
Phone: 703.993.4845
Fax: 703.993.4851
http://ices.gmu.edu
http://gunston.gmu.edu/bwilson3

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