Behavioral economics: areas of cooperative research between economics and applied behavioral analysis.

Davis et al. (1972) wrote a position paper. They said token economies are ready-made markets. Economists could use them to test money theory.

The authors did not run new experiments. They pointed to existing ABA studies. They argued those setups already work like mini stock markets.

The paper claims token boards, punch cards, and class stores are economic labs. Prices, wages, and inflation can be tested in real time.

Kids earning tokens for math facts act like workers paid in scrip. The room is a closed economy. Researchers control the money supply.

Siegel et al. (1970) had already shown the idea works. Their preschool token system paid kids with play coins for handwriting. When the pay stopped, the writing stopped. That is the same cause-effect economists need.

Silva et al. (2020) stretched the concept further. They used a token game with ADHD grade-schoolers. Kids lost tokens for rule breaking. Disruptions fell just like in the old pay-for-work setups. The tool still works 48 years later.

Vyse (2004) looks opposite at first. He talks about trait stability, not tokens. But both papers push ABA into spaces other fields ignore. One gives economists a lab. The other gives personality researchers a better ruler.

You already run token economies. Now see them as micro-economies. Track price changes: how many tokens does a soda cost this week? Watch inflation: does the child need more tokens for the same toy? You can graph supply and demand curves right on the wall. Economists will thank you for the clean data.