What can online-gaming communities, where computer players typically adopt fanciful personae, teach us about economics in the real world? More than you might think, according to Edward Castronova, an economist at Indiana University at Bloomington.
Mr. Castronova is one of a small but growing crop of academics who are researching multiplayer games like Second Life and World of Warcraft, looking for clues into how consumers respond to inflation and other socioeconomic stimuli. Mr. Castronova chronicles his work on a blog, Terra Nova. (San Francisco Chronicle)
