The TEME conference aims to foster the dialogue among theorists, experimentalists, and policymakers, bringing together state-of-the-art research on the use of experimental methods—spanning laboratory, survey, and field experiments. The conference serves as a platform for exchanging ideas and insights, with a focus on how experimental approaches can advance monetary theories and shape effective monetary policies.

Vernon Smith was awarded the Nobel Prize in economics “for having established laboratory experiments as a tool in empirical analysis, especially in the study of alternative market mechanisms.” Indeed, experimental methods are now commonly used as an empirical tool to address questions in nearly every field of economics. Even macroeconomists and monetary economists are increasingly turning to these approaches to tackle complex questions and test economic theories in controlled environments.

A widely held early view was that macroeconomic and monetary questions could not be effectively studied in the necessarily small scale of the laboratory or through limited survey methods. This view, however, has since evolved. The development of micro-founded macro models and computerized platforms now enable researchers to conduct larger-scale and complex experiments, even reaching representative samples of households. This progress means that it is now both possible and appropriate to explore questions in macroeconomics and monetary economics using controlled experimental methods.

The conference featured three plenary speakers (James Bullard, Gabriele Camera, and Isabelle Salle) and a dozen additional talks that promoted the growth of the experimental macroeconomics field and helped to shape both theoretical progress and policy design. As highlighted by the conference program, the field of experimental macroeconomics is expanding rapidly, with a wide range of topics covered. These included drivers of inflation expectations formation and spending decisions, adoption of financial technologies, price formation mechanisms in asset markets, thought-provoking tests of optimal macroeconomic policies and financial markets disciplining strategies. This growth is also evident in the diverse set of measurement tools used, from laboratory and survey experiments to field experiments. The conference also brought together a well-balanced mix of junior and senior speakers from a variety of backgrounds, representing both academic and policy-oriented institutions.

Experimental Economics has deep traditions at IU and has in fact been one of the well-known exceptional strengths of the Department of Economics. Combined with the department’s strengths in Macroeconomics and Theory, IU is a perfect venue for hosting this conference.