Who are we?

BELIS (BİLGİ Economics Lab of İstanbul), the first experimental economics lab in Turkey, was founded in 2009 as a part of the Murat Sertel Center for Advanced Economic Studies through the administrative and financial support of İstanbul Bilgi University.

Murat Sertel was not only the founding mentor of a tradition in advanced economic theory in Turkey, but he was also the first scholar who ran economics experiments in this country. From this perspective, it is very meaningful for BELIS to be a part of a research center named after him. 

BELIS is dedicated to activities related to experimental research in economics to test theoretical predictions, to explore regularities of human behavior in taking individual and collective decisions which are shaped by economic environments, and to guide the design of economic institutions. In this respect, BELIS aims to provide a ground for collaboration among colleagues from different disciplines. On the other hand, BELIS gives special emphasis to introducing experimental economics to students at both undergraduate and graduate levels through crash courses, seminars, and term-long courses, as well as promoting experimental tools to teach economics.