The International Foundation for Research in Experimental Economics (IFREE) awarded Professor Neslihan Uler a grant for $10,000.
Uler applied for the grant along with Professor Stephen Salant, an AREC research professor at the University of Maryland, and Professor William Shobe, of the University of Virginia. The grant will support their research into Government Buyback Programs for Commodity Markets: An Experimental Investigation of the Subtle Effects of Floor Price Changes.
They want to use the grant to further generate funding for laboratory experiments, according Uler. She first became interested in market experiments while at graduate school at New York University.
“We use a laboratory experiment to study how government interventions, in particular buy-back policies, influence commodity prices,” said Uler. “In addition, by conducting a controlled laboratory experiment that mimic the markets closely, we can uncover behavioral factors that might affect individuals’ behavior.”
Results will help refine related theories and market regulations and policies. She hopes that the research will benefit government interventions that influence the supply of commodities in a variety of markets, including agricultural goods, currencies, emission allowances, petroleum and electricity.
The grant will cover the expenses for subject fees in the experiment, according to Uler.
Originally inspired by Mary Caslin Ross and the work of Vernon Smith, a nobel prize winner, the IFREE supports experimental economics research to gain a better understanding of market and personal exchange systems.
In the future, Uler plans to build a strong research agenda to study related topics.
