Analyzing an Experimental Outcome

A city government observes that there is only one company providing residential waste collection services, leading to high prices and infrequent service for its citizens. The government wants to create a market that produces better outcomes for residents. Based on the principles of market structure, which of the following policy actions is most likely to achieve this goal?

Generalizing Experimental Findings

An economist conducts a laboratory game with a group of local farmers to measure their willingness to cooperate in managing a shared irrigation system. The game's results show a high degree of cooperation among the participants. However, observations of their real-world behavior reveal that these same farmers frequently overuse water resources, leading to shortages for everyone. What does this discrepancy most strongly suggest about the laboratory game?

A research study observed the behavior of Brazilian fishermen in a controlled game designed to measure cooperation. The study found a strong positive correlation between the level of cooperation a fisherman showed in the game and how sustainably they fished in their actual, day-to-day work. What is the most significant implication of this finding for the field of economics?

The study involving Brazilian fishermen demonstrated that their participation in a cooperative game was the primary factor that caused them to adopt more sustainable fishing practices in their real-world activities.

Evaluating Experimental Conclusions

Evaluating an Experimental Design for Predicting Behavior

A t-shirt printing business operates out of a small workshop with a single printing press. The owner is deciding how many employees to hire. Match each hiring scenario with its most likely impact on the total number of t-shirts printed per hour.

A group of economists designs a laboratory game to measure the cooperative tendencies of farmers who share a common pasture for their livestock. After conducting the game, the economists want to establish the predictive validity of their experiment. Which of the following actions would be the most direct and effective way to achieve this?