2. Does equilibrium really exist? Research about Vernon Smith’s experiment. Discuss in depth what he did and did it prove the existance of equilibrium or not

What is an economic experiment?
Economic experiments are similar to those conducted in physics, chemistry and other natural sciences, with the only difference being that they are conducted on people. Participants in the experiment are invited to play a game during which they make certain economic decisions. Games are played in a specially equipped laboratory, usually on a computer or on paper. Game duration is from 30 minutes to 1.5 hours. Games are typically played for cash or prizes to provide an incentive for participants to take initiative, just as they would when solving problems in real life.
Why is experimental economics important?
Experimental economics makes it possible to test the behavior of agents in a certain economic situation and draw conclusions about the possible impact of a particular event. We can monitor how markets react to changes in the conditions of the game and draw appropriate conclusions. Thus, the answers that experimental economics gives us have not only scientific, but also practical value. They can be useful in the world of politics and finance, environmental management, trade and many other industries. Any theory is good when it is tested in practice!
Who first came up with the idea of ​​conducting experiments in economics?
The first experiments testing the predictions of economic theories appear to date back to the work of Irving Fisher in 1892, who estimated individual indifference curves and even constructed experimental setups to identify equilibrium consumer prices . Continuing his work, Thurston (1931) empirically tests the theory of individual choice by checking how well indifference curves describe an individual's choices.
Edward Chamberlin in 1948 tried to reproduce the natural market in laboratory conditions . His attempt was unsuccessful, but his student Vernon Smith (Nobel Prize 2002) achieved success in 1962, using the double auction method in his work , and initiating experimental studies of market structures
Maurice Allais (Nobel Prize 1989) conducted one of the first informal experiments testing the new theory of risk behavior (von Neumann-Morgenstern) in 1949. The development of these studies in the works of psychologists Mosteller , Edwards, Lewis, Tversky and Kahneman (Nobel Prize 2002) laid the foundation for experiments in the field of individual decision making.