Ernest K. Lai

Professor Lai joined Lehigh University in 2009 after obtaining his doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh. A native of Hong Kong, he obtained his undergraduate and master's degrees at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and The University of Hong Kong.

Professor Lai's research focuses on using the tools of game theory and laboratory experiments to study strategic communication between parties with conflicting interests. He teaches microeconomics and game theory at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

Education

• The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, B.B.A. (Econ.)
• The University of Hong Kong, M.Econ.
• University of Pittsburgh, Ph.D.

Research Interests

• Game theory 
• Experimental economics

Selected Publications

• "Shuffling as a Sales Tactic: An Experimental Study of Selling Product Rankings" (with Qichao Shi and James Dearden), Management Science, forthcoming.
• "Mediated Talk: An Experiment" (with Andreas Blume and Wooyoung Lim), Journal of Economic Theory, 208 (2023), 105593.
• "Confirmatory Bias in Health Decisions: Evidence from the MMR-Autism Controversy" (with Mengcen Qian and Shin-Yi Chou), Journal of Health Economics, 70 (2020), 102284.
• "Eliciting Private Information with Noise: The Case of Randomized Response" (with Andreas Blume and Wooyoung Lim), Games and Economic Behavior, 113 (2019), 356-380.
• "The Informational Theory of Legislative Committees: An Experimental Analysis" (with Marco Battaglini, Wooyoung Lim, and Joseph Tao-yi Wang), American Political Science Review, 113 (2019), 55-76.
• "Meaning and Credibility in Experimental Cheap-Talk Games" (with Wooyoung Lim), Quantitative Economics, 9 (2018), 1453-1487.
• "Coordination via Correlation: An Experimental Study" (with John Duffy and Wooyoung Lim), Economic Theory, 64 (2017), 265-304.
• "Expert Advice for Amateurs," Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 103 (2014), 1-16.