Experimental methods in Political Economy: A Tool for Regulatory Research

[Introduction] Regulatory research involves scholars in almost all dimensions of the social sciences. Economics, law and legal institutions, psychology, bureaucratic politics, and even voting politics become intermingled in complex ways to obscure the consequences of alternative policy options. Research undertaken to provide some insights, experience, or educated guesses necessarily confronts scholars with multidisciplinary considerations. It also involves them with situations, problems, and institutional arrangements for which there are no historical precedents, leaving them with very little shared experience to resolve scientific disagreements.