Computational and experimental economics workshop at SFU Vancouver

Economists from around the world gathered in Vancouver for a two-day workshop on computational and experimental economics in honour of Jasmina Arifovic, a pioneer in the fields and a professor in the SFU Department of Economics for nearly 30 years. 

Computational economics uses computer-based models and simulations to study economic systems and make predictions about their behavior, while experimental economics uses controlled experiments to study human behavior in economic settings.

These two closely related and complementary branches of economics are often used in combination to gain a more comprehensive understanding of economic behavior. While computational economics can help to generate hypotheses and test theories about economic behavior, experimental economics provides a way to test those hypotheses in a controlled setting.

Arifovic’s research seamlessly integrated these two methodologies to explore a diverse range of macroeconomic, microeconomic, and financial questions. She was an inspiration to many economists in these fields. The conference was organized to honour her work and her research contributions, and to share knowledge amongst current leaders in the fields. 

The Workshop on Computational and Experimental Economics was co-organized by SFU economics professor Luba Petersen, professor Herbert Dawid (Bielefeld University) and professor Cars Hommes (University of Amsterdam and Bank of Canada), with support from Simon Fraser University, the Bank of Canada, and the Society for Computational Economics. It took place on February 4 and 5, 2023 at the SFU Vancouver campus.