Market Trading Experiment Platform

Updated: 2026/03

Developer: SUN Fengfei (sunfengfei@u.nus.edu)

Overview

An oTree-based experimental economics platform for conducting multi-round trading experiments. Participants are assigned a utility function, parameters (α, β), and an initial endowment of Good A and Good B. They select a trading partner, negotiate and submit trades, and proceed through up to 3 trading rounds.

Key Features

• Heterogeneous utility functions (Cobb-Douglas, Linear, Leontief)
• Partner selection and mutual/one-sided matching logic
• Real-time trade verification and execution
• Round-by-round history summary at the end

Experiment Flow

1. Login & Setup — participants enter their student ID and receive their utility parameters and endowment
2. Partner Selection — participants nominate a trading partner by student ID
3. Trading (repeated for 3 rounds) — matched pairs submit trade quantities; trades are verified and executed if valid
4. Summary — final page shows full round-by-round history, final holdings, and utility

Tech Stack

• Backend: Python / oTree
• Real-time matching via WebSocket (Redis)
• Configurable scenarios via session config keys