Experimentation, Innovation, and Economics

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Kremer, Michael
• 署名单位: Harvard University
• 刊物名称: AMERICAN ECONOMIC REVIEW
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0002-8282
• DOI: 10.1257/aer.110.7.1974
• 发表日期: 2020
• 页码: 1974-1994
• 关键词: LONG-RUN IMPACTS; field experiment; health subsidies; child health; education; CORRUPTION; textbooks; mechanism; PROGRAMS; returns

摘要

The experimental method not only helps identify causal relationships, but also provides economists with a rich sense of context, focuses research on specific practical questions, stimulates collaboration with practitioners and specialists from other fields, and allows for rapid iteration. In this lecture, I present a series of examples illustrating how together these features make the experimental approach a powerful tool for advancing scientific understanding, informing policy, and promoting innovation. I then discuss how institutions can be designed to accelerate innovation and direct it toward the world's most pressing needs.