Uncertainty and Shopping Behaviour: An Experimental Analysis
通过实验检验了三种搜索均衡模型，这些模型在买家搜索策略上不同，预测了不同的价格均衡。实验结果与模型预测基本一致，表明应关注模型假设的现实性而非其刻画市场结果的能力。
This paper reports experimental tests of three search equilibrium models. These models which differ only in the search strategies available to the buyers have qualitatively different predictions, that is, equilibria: price distributions, single price equilibria at the competitive price and at the monopoly price and two price equilibria. The experimental outcomes generally were consistent with the models' predictions. This suggests that debate on the utility of this class of models should shift to the realism of the models' assumptions rather than focus on their ability to characterize market outcomes. Also, since the basic models have been validated, the project of analysing experimentally the results of relaxing some of their assumptions seems worthwhile.