Caltech summer program in theory-based experiments

[Marina Agranov]

Dear colleagues, 

 

We are announcing the fifth Caltech summer program in theory-based experiments, organized by Marina Agranov and Charlie Sprenger with the financial support of the Center for Theoretical and Experimental Social Sciences (CTESS) at Caltech.

 

After the instructional component of the summer program, we will be organizing a 1.5-day workshop for scholars and students (including past students) on the topic of behavioral and experimental economics. 

 

The instructional component will be held from June 15 - June 17 at Caltech. 

 

The workshop will run on June 18^th and 19^th also at Caltech.

 

Please consider nominating advanced graduate students who might be interested in participating, and please consider joining us for the workshop as well.

 

 

 

Here is the official announcement: 

 

Caltech Summer Program in Theory-Based Experiments and Post-School Behavioral/Experimental Workshop

organized by Marina Agranov and Charlie Sprenger

with the financial support of CTESS at Caltech

 

This Caltech Summer Program in Theory-Based Experiments invites advanced graduate students interested in Behavioral and Experimental Economics to apply. The instructional component and following workshop will be held from June 15-19, 2026. Course material will combine modern experimental methodology, a theoretical focus on creating experimental data driven by core model predictions, and structural estimation from obtained data. These three elements constitute the basis of theory-driven experimental design and structural analysis.

 

Caltech is one of the pioneers of theory-driven experimental designs. Generalizable lessons are often forged from designs focused on evaluating a model’s central mechanisms. Theory-based experiments also lend themselves to structural estimation, allowing researchers to assess the robustness of results across experiments, estimate counterfactuals, and make out-of-sample predictions. This methodology implicates a variety of tools and, hence, requires a close dialog between theorists, experimentalists, and econometricians. 

 

The structure of the program will consist of hands-on lectures laying out the methodology of designing experiments, conducting experiments, statistical inference from experimental data, structural estimation from experimental data, and evaluating lessons learned from these estimations. 

 

Lodging for the duration of the program and workshop will be covered for admitted participants along with travel expenses up to $400. Any remaining funds will be used for workshop travel and housing support for other scholars.

 

Interested applicants should send a recent CV and one letter of support to Letty Diaz at letty.diaz@caltech.edu by April 20^th, 2026. The decisions will be made by May 10th, 2026. If you are interested in attending the workshop please send an abstract or manuscript along with a note of whether you would benefit from travel and housing funds to letty.diaz@caltech.edu by April 20^th, 2026. The workshop presentation decisions will also be made by May 10th, 2026.

Yours with thanks,

Charlie Sprenger and Marina Agranov