Awards
The Society for Experimental Finance together with Chapman University bestows awards upon researchers for publications of path-breaking research papers in international journals. Named after pioneering experimental economist and Nobel Prize laureate Vernon Lomax Smith, the award recognizes excellent contributions by young (Vernon L. Smith Young Talent Award) and senior (Vernon L. Smith Excellence Award) researchers in experimental finance.
2023 Vernon L. Smith Young Talent Award (2nd round)
In 2023, the Society for Experimental Finance awards two times $4,000 for the best research proposals in finance using experimental methodology. We thank Chapman University for sponsoring the prize in 2023. We awarded only one prize so far (see below) and was open for a second round. The deadline was September 30th, 2023. To apply for the VSYA, one needs to submit a proposal for an experimental research project via the application form, and send the completed application form to office@experimentalfinance.org with the subject “VSYA” and the applicant's name.
Requirements
The following holds for all authors. Your project is eligible for assessment if 1) you have received your PhD after 2017 or have no PhD yet, 2) you have an affiliation with a University or other research institution, and 3) and you are a SEF member. (Membership in the SEF is free; visit https://bit.ly/sef-member to join.)
Your project’s research question is located in a finance context, for example, financial economics, corporate finance, household finance, or sustainable finance.
Your proposal should describe a proper experiment, with a minimum of two treatments organized as a randomized control trial (no quasi-experiment, comparing two distinct groups of participants exposed to the same stimuli, and no demonstration, comparing outcomes from one environment/task to theoretical benchmarks).
The funds are earmarked for running the submitted experimental project. Any resulting publication must acknowledge funding from the SEF through the VSYA.
Find more information in the application form.
How to find the winner for the second round? After screening the submissions for eligibility, we send part two of the application form to the panel members. The panel members evaluate the proposals and select the winner. The panel members are Elena Asparouhova (SEF Current President), Michael Kirchler (SEF Founder), Stefan Palan (SEF Managing Director) and David Porter (Chapman University Ambassador).
2023 Vernon L. Smith Excellence Award in Experimental Finance
We are pleased to announce that Cary Frydman (USC Marshall) and Lawrence J. Jin (Cornell University) won the 2023 Vernon L. Smith Excellence Award in Experimental Finance for their paper "Efficient Coding and Risky Choice", published in the Quarterly Journal of Economics (https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjab031).
The award panel is excited about this important contribution to the study of perception in finance. The panel members are Elena Asparouhova (University of Utah), Michael Kirchler (University of Innsbruck), Dave Porter (Chapman University), and Stefan Palan (University of Graz).
Congratulations to both authors for their contributions!
2023 Vernon L. Smith Young Talent Award
We are pleased to announce that Jakob Famulok and Daniel Worring (both University of Frankfurt) won the 2023 Vernon L. Smith Young Talent Award in Experimental Finance for their research proposal "Moral Licensing through ESG Investments: Causal Evidence on Individual Preferences and Actions".
The award panel is confident the research project funded by this award will make an important contribution to the rapidly growing literature studying ESG investments and its sustainability impact. The panel members are Elena Asparouhova (University of Utah), Michael Kirchler (University of Innsbruck), Dave Porter (Chapman University), and Stefan Palan (University of Graz).
Congratulations to both winners!
2022 Vernon L. Smith Excellence Award in Experimental Finance
We are pleased to announce that Lionel Page and Christoph Siemroth won the 2022 Vernon L. Smith Excellence Award in Experimental Finance for their paper "How much information is incorporated into financial asset price? Empirical evidence", published in The Review of Financial Studies (https://doi.org/10.1093/rfs/hhaa143 ).
The award panel is impressed by the depth and scope of the studies and is convinced that both papers make a very important contribution to Finance research. The panel members are Elena Asparouhova (University of Utah), Michael Kirchler (University of Innsbruck), Dave Porter (Chapman University), and Stefan Palan (University of Graz).
Congratulations to all authors for their contributions.
2022 Vernon L. Smith Young Talent Award
We are pleased to announce that Muhammad Meki won the 2022 Vernon L. Smith Young Talent Award in Experimental Finance for his submission "Equity-based microfinance and risk preferences", to the 2022 Experimental Finance Conference.
The award panel is impressed by the depth and scope of the studies and is convinced that both papers make a very important contribution to Finance research. The panel members are Elena Asparouhova (University of Utah), Michael Kirchler (University of Innsbruck), Dave Porter (Chapman University), and Stefan Palan (University of Graz).
Congratulations to Muhammad!
2021 Vernon L. Smith Excellence Award in Experimental Finance
We are pleased to announce that Isabel Trevino has won the 2021 Vernon L. Smith Excellence Award in Experimental Finance for her paper "Information Channels of Financial Contagion", published in Econometrica (econometricsociety.org/publications/econometrica/2020/01/01/informational-channels-financial-contagion).
The award panel is impressed by the depth and scope of this study and is convinced that it makes a very important contribution to Finance research. The panel members are Elena Asparouhova (University of Utah), Michael Kirchler (University of Innsbruck), Dave Porter (Chapman University), and Utz Weitzel (VU Amsterdam and Radboud University).
Congratulations Isabel!
2021 Vernon L. Smith Young Talent Award
We are pleased to announce that Immanuel Lampe and Matthias Weber have won the 2021 Vernon L. Smith Young Talent Award in Experimental Finance for their submission "Intertemporal Prospect Theory" to the 2021 Experimental Finance Conference.
The award panel is impressed by the depth and scope of this study and is convinced that it makes a very important contribution to Finance research. The panel members are Elena Asparouhova (University of Utah), Michael Kirchler (University of Innsbruck), Dave Porter (Chapman University), and Utz Weitzel (VU Amsterdam and Radboud University).
Congratulations Immanuel and Matthias!
2020 Vernon L. Smith Excellence Award in Experimental Finance
We are pleased to announce that Edward Halim, Yohanes Riyanto, and Nilanjan Roy won the 2020 Vernon L. Smith Excellence Award in Experimental Finance for their paper "Costly Information Acquisition, Social Networks, and Asset Prices: Experimental Evidence", published in the Journal of Finance (https://doi.org/10.1111/jofi.12768).
The award panel also wants to give special recognition to the paper "An Experimental Test of the Lucas Asset Pricing Model" by Sean Crockett, John Duffy, and Yehuda Izhakian, published in the Review of Economic Studies (https://doi.org/10.1093/restud/rdy035).
The award panel is impressed by the depth and scope of the studies and is convinced that both papers make a very important contribution to Finance research. The panel members are Elena Asparouhova (University of Utah), Michael Kirchler (University of Innsbruck), Dave Porter (Chapman University), and Utz Weitzel (VU Amsterdam and Radboud University).
Congratulations to all authors for their contributions.
2020 Vernon L. Smith Young Talent Award
We are pleased to announce the two joint-winners of the 2020 Vernon L. Smith Young Talent Award in Experimental Finance:
- Beliefs About the Stock Market and Investment Choices: Evidence from a Field Experiment
Laudenbach, Christine; Weber, Annika; Wohlfart, Johannes
- Are Women Really Better Borrowers in Microfinance? Evidence from Matrilineal and Patrilineal Societies in India
Mukherjee, Shagata
The award panel is impressed by the depth and scope of the work and is convinced that both papers make an important contribution to Finance research. The panel members were Elena Asparouhova (University of Utah), Michael Kirchler (University of Innsbruck), Dave Porter (Chapman University), and Utz Weitzel (VU Amsterdam and Radboud University).
With the award, which is jointly sponsored by the SEF and Chapman University, comes to prize money of US$ 4000. (The panel awarded this year's Young Talent to two submissions, each of which receives US$ 4000.) In accepting the award, the winners confirm that they will use the prize money for future research projects.
Congratulations to all authors for their contributions.