Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 27, 2026

Combining Behavioral Endocrinology and Experimental Economics: Testosterone and Social Decision Making
Published on: March 2, 2011
The leverage effect on wealth distribution in a controllable laboratory stock market
Chenge Zhu1, Guang Yang1, Kenan An1
1Department of Physics and State Key Laboratory of Surface Physics, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Abstract:
Wealth distribution has always been an important issue in our economic and social life, since it affects the harmony and stabilization of the society. Under the background of widely used financial tools to raise leverage these years, we studied the leverage effect on wealth distribution of a population in a controllable laboratory market in which we have conducted several human experiments, and drawn the conclusion that higher leverage leads to a higher Gini coefficient in the market. A higher Gini coefficient means the wealth distribution among a population becomes more unequal. This is a result of the ascending risk with growing leverage level in the market plus the diversified trading abilities and risk preference of the participants. This work sheds light on the effects of leverage and its related regulations, especially its impact on wealth distribution. It also shows the capability of the method of controllable laboratory markets which could be helpful in several fields of study such as economics, econophysics and sociology.
More Related Videos
06:18The Collective Trust Game: An Online Group Adaptation of the Trust Game Based on the HoneyComb Paradigm
Published on: October 20, 2022
15:00Daily Transfers, Archiving Populations, and Measuring Fitness in the Long-Term Evolution Experiment with Escherichia coli
Published on: August 18, 2023
Related Concept Videos
Equity Theory
Randomized Experiments
Simple randomization
Simple...
Regression Toward the Mean
Social Exchange Theory
Social Exchange Theory
Dynamic Equilibrium