In the last twenty years experimental economists have confirmed what we already know, for example that people are jealous, although they are also altruistic and cooperative but, above all, experiments have shown precisely in which circumstances all these very human characteristics have great economic importance.

This book allows us to understand aspects of economic reality which experimental methodology has revealed with greater clarity. It helps us understand, for example, how normal people behave – people like your work colleagues, neighbours, or friends – when they make decisions and why certain markets function better than others.