Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin - Resource Economics

Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin | Thaer-Institute | Resource Economics | Young academics | Working Group on Field Experiments in Agricultural and Resource Economics

Working Group on Field Experiments in Agricultural and Resource Economics

Our working group serves as a common platform on experimental methods in the Division of Resource Economics. In its biweekly meetings the group discusses – among others– special methodical topics, literature, and experimental designs developed by members of the group.

Past events include for instance an extensive discussion on mixed methods, particularly on the combination of qualitative research methods (case studies) with economic experiments and a workshop held in June 2012 on “Experiments in the lab and field on governance of Social-Ecological Systems” by Marco A. Janssen, Associate Professor, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Co-director, Center for the Study of Institutional Diversity Arizona State University, USA. Also, the group has served as a participant pool for explorative pre-testing of field experiments planned by group members, e.g. Bhuvanachithra Chidambaram´s Transport Game which has been conducted in Hyderabad, India in autumn 2012.

As a common communication forum, the group uses the Moodle platform. The group is open to everybody who is interested into Experimental Economics and willing to contribute to the group`s activities. Interested persons may contact Dimitrios Zikos , Bhuvanachithra Chidambaram or Jens Rommel for further information.  In the following the current members of the group from the Division of Resource Economics or guests, present themselves and their work.

Name: Ilona M. Otto

Affiliation: Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK)

Primary Research Interest: Governance of Natural Resources and Adaptation to Climate Change

Description: Ilona investigates coordination mechanisms for the provision of public and common goods such as biodiversity and water. She uses experiments and role playing games in her research on water governance in North China.

Name: Saikumar C. Bharamappanavara

Affiliation: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Division of Cooperative Sciences

Primary Research Interest: Experimental Methods in Microfinance Research

Description: In his research on Microfinance in India, Saikumar is using different economic experiments to study the importance of social capital in this field. He has joined the group to share and to extend his knowledge on experimental methods in microfinance research.

Name: Anna Buschmann

Affiliation: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Division of Resource Economics

Primary Research Interest: Decision Making Under Uncertainty

Description: Anna´s primary interest is related to questions of transition and development from the perspectives of the New Political Economy and Institutional Economics. She explores behavior and decision making processes of people under uncertainty. Her empirical work focuses on land tenure in Georgia.

Name: Bhuvanachithra Chidambaram

Affiliation: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Division of Resource Economics

Primary Research Interest: Experimental Economics in Transport Research

Description: Bhuvana´s research objective is to develop a comprehensive integrated framework for institutional analysis which shall complement her vehicle emission estimations for Hyderabad, India. As a tool, she has developed traffic experiments to test behavioral aspects of traffic rules and transport policies. Theory-wise, her work asks whether travel time and traffic related problems can be analyzed using theories typically applied to social dilemma research and common pool resource management.

Name: Frederike Gehrigk

Affiliation: Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Development in Central and Eastern Europe (IAMO), Department: External Environment for Agriculture and Policy Analysis

Primary Research Interest: Sequential mixed methods, Land and Water Nexus

Description: In her PhD, Frederike is approaching the land and water governance interface with an empirical focus on three distinct provinces in Tajikistan. The study uses methodological triangulation, whereof experiments are one basic component to specifically investigate the strategic behavior of new and old resource regime users with regard to land and water allocation.

Name: Ulan Kasymov

Affiliation: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Division of Resource Economics

Primary Research Interest: Experimental Methods and Pasture Management in Kyrgyzstan

Description: In his doctoral research, Ulan is studying institutional arrangements of pastures in Kyrgyzstan. He focuses on the implementation and adaptation of new legislations in pasture management. In his research, Ulan is combining case study methods with lab and field experiments.

Name: Regina Neudert

Affiliations:  (1) BTU Cottbus, Environmental Economics and (2) Greifswald University, Landscape Economics

Primary Research Interest: Capacity for cooperation in peasant societies

Description: Regina contributes to the design of a Payment System for Ecosystem Services in rural Madagascar. She plans to apply field experiments to analyze the capacity of local villagers to cooperate in natural resource management, which is crucial for the success of a PES. The research takes place in the project “Sustainable land management in Madagascar” (SuLaMa).

Name: Ourania Papasozomenou

Affiliation: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Division of Resource Economics

Primary Research Interest: Experimental Methods and Water Management in the Mediterranean

Description: In her doctoral research, Rania is exploring different arrangements with which water resources are governed in the Mediterranean islands and how these arrangements came to be. Using experimental methods allows Rania to understand individual as well as group behaviour in water management at the local level.

Name: Jens Rommel

Affiliation: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Division of Resource Economics

Primary Research Interest: Experimental Methods and Institutional Change

Description: In his doctoral thesis, Jens uses experiments to study the factors which lead to successful collective action. He is particularly interested in the effects of heterogeneity and leadership on the provision of local public goods in the slums of Hyderbad, India. In his work he also explores the potentials and limits of economic experiments for the study of institutional change.

Name: Christine Werthmann

Affiliation: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Division of Resource Economics

Primary Research Interest: Mixed Methods and Experiments

Description: Christine is mainly interested in the combination of experimental methods with other methods (qualitative and participative research). Her field experiments focus on the management of natural resources in South East Asia and on the influence of “bad” experiences in collective action on trust levels within a community. She currently conducts experiments on trust in Indian slums.

Name: Dimitrios Zikos

Affiliation: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Division of Resource Economics

Primary Research Interest: Experimental Research on Natural Resources Conflicts

Description: In his research, Dimitris combines different methods like experiments, participatory action research, and scenario building n order to study the mechanisms of conflicts on common pool resources. He employs field and lab experiments developed by others and for different purposes in the above mentioned context. Dimitris has participated in field and lab experiments in both parts of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Greece and India.