Rational expectations in an experimental asset market with shocks to market trends

Abstract

We construct an experimental asset market in which the time trend of the fundamental value is subject to a shock. The design of the experiment allows testing of whether prices adhere to Rational Expectations levels, and whether there is over- or under-reaction to new information. We find that prices conform closely to Rational Expectations and episodes of mispricing are rare. A meta-analysis allows us to update our beliefs about whether experimental asset markets exhibit a generic tendency to misprice, particularly in bearish environments.