The Trust Game: A Historical and Methodological Analysis at the Frontier of Experimental and Behavioral Economics

Nicolas Camilotto
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Nicolas Camilotto: Université Côte d'Azur, CNRS, GREDEG, France

No 2026-11, GREDEG Working Papers from Groupe de REcherche en Droit, Economie, Gestion (GREDEG CNRS), Université Côte d'Azur, France

Abstract: This paper provides a life-cycle analysis of the Trust Game, using its trajectory as a lens to clarify the boundaries between experimental and behavioral economics. We first trace its 1995 creation by Berg et al. as a challenge to calculative trust paradigms. A bibliometric study then maps its diffusion, revealing two divergent paths in economics: one, rooted in experimental economics, prioritizes measurement; the other, in behavioral economics, theory-testing. These paths differ in methods and validity standards, constituting an epistemic divide that illuminates the fields’ evolving relationship.

Keywords: trust; trust game; experimental economics; behavioral economics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: B2 B4 C9 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 35
Date: 2026-03
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hpe
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Forthcoming in The European Journal of the History of Economic Thought

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gre:wpaper:2026-11

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