Tommy Andersson, Ola Andersson and Erik Wengström

Project summary

Behavioural aspects of institutional design

The research project aims to study behavioural aspects of institutional design.

 

The starting point is that an institution is a formal and centralised structure. There are many examples of such institutions: centralised tendering procedures for public procurement, auctions for spectrum licences, systems for allocating school places based on parents’ school preferences, and centralised systems for organ transplantation.

 

The way in which formal rules are designed is highly likely to affect the behaviour of the agents involved, such as firms, parents or hospitals. Agents may take strategic considerations into account or adapt their behaviour in response to dynamic effects. The research project will focus specifically on two areas:

• how formal and centralised institutions should be designed to achieve specific objectives; and
• the behavioural effects that arise from specific institutional designs.

 

The project will examine a range of questions based on practical problems related to these two areas, using theoretical research, empirical studies and experimental methods.