Welcome to the Frankfurt Laboratory for Experimental Economic Research

FLEX – the Frankfurt Laboratory for Experimental Economic Research is a research center at the Faculty of Economics and Business at Goethe University in Frankfurt. It was founded in 2008 and is located on Campus Westend. FLEX was initially supported by a starting grant from the Alfons und Gertrud Kassel-Stiftung.

FLEX takes up a long tradition in experimental economics at Goethe University beginning with the pioneering work of Nobel laureate Reinhard Selten and Heinz Sauermann in the late 1950s. Further contributors who worked in Frankfurt include Reinhard Tietz and Werner Güth.

Researchers at FLEX study human behavior and decision making in social and economic contexts employing experimental methods. We conduct experiments in the laboratory, via the Internet, and in the field. The purpose of experiments is manifold and ranges from testing economic theories, to the elicitation of preferences as well as policy and impact evaluations. Current research conducted at FLEX covers different areas including behavioral economics, development economics, organizational and personnel economics, and finance.

FLEX has strong ties to the Management and Microeconomics Department at Goethe University. The Applied Microeconomics and Organization Seminar features many experimental talks by renowned researchers in the field. It is organized in collaboration with the Economics Department at the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management and takes place each Wednesday during the semester. The seminar is open to all visitors.

Since January 2020 FLEX has been collaborating with the Leibniz Institute for Financial Research SAFE in the SAFE Experiment Center.