As in other sciences, an economic experiment is an artificial situation created by a researcher for the purpose of answering one or more scientific questions. Experiments of various types are used in economics to understand the causes of poverty and how it might be alleviated. The methods can identify causal relationships between variables and thereby isolate factors that can lead to poverty as well as to document the behavioral consequences of poverty. Experiments can also be used to provide test beds for proposed policies to alleviate poverty. This essay describes a variety of ways in which experiments have been employed to understand and combat poverty. A line of laboratory experiments that considers which economic institutions are conducive to economic growth is discussed in detail. The results show that decentralized markets are conducive to allowing an economy to operate as efficiently as it can. However, in an economy with a theoretical “poverty trap,” the market works more efficiently if accompanied by a democratic voting process and freedom of communication.

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实验经济学、贫困和经济增长

与其他科学一样，经济实验是研究人员为了回答一个或多个科学问题而创造的一种人为情境。经济学中使用各种类型的实验来了解贫困的原因以及如何减轻贫困。这些方法可以识别变量之间的因果关系，从而隔离可能导致贫困的因素，并记录贫困的行为后果。实验还可以为拟议的扶贫政策提供试验平台。本文描述了利用实验来理解和消除贫困的各种方法。详细讨论了一系列考虑哪些经济制度有利于经济增长的实验室实验。结果表明，去中心化的市场有利于经济体尽可能高效地运行。然而，在一个理论上存在“贫困陷阱”的经济体中，如果伴随着民主投票过程和沟通自由，市场的运作效率会更高。