Misbehaving: The Making of Behavioural Economics
May 2015 · Penguin UK
4.2star
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432
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About this ebook
RICHARD H. THALER: WINNER OF THE 2017 NOBEL PRIZE IN ECONOMICS
Shortlisted for the Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award
ECONOMIST, FINANCIAL TIMES and EVENING STANDARD books of the year
From the renowned and entertaining behavioural economist and co-author of the seminal work Nudge, Misbehaving is an irreverent and enlightening look into human foibles. Traditional economics assumes that rational forces shape everything. Behavioural economics knows better. Richard Thaler has spent his career studying the notion that humans are central to the economy - and that we're error-prone individuals, not Spock-like automatons. Now behavioural economics is hugely influential, changing the way we think not just about money, but about ourselves, our world and all kinds of everyday decisions.
Whether buying an alarm clock, selling football tickets, or applying for a mortgage, we all succumb to biases and make decisions that deviate from the standards of rationality assumed by economists. In other words, we misbehave. Dismissed at first by economists as an amusing sideshow, the study of human miscalculations and their effects on markets now drives efforts to make better decisions in our lives, our businesses, and our governments.
Coupling recent discoveries in human psychology with a practical understanding of incentives and market behaviour, Thaler enlightens readers about how to make smarter decisions in an increasingly mystifying world. He reveals how behavioural economic analysis opens up new ways to look at everything from household finance to assigning faculty offices in a new building, to TV quiz shows, sports transfer seasons, and businesses like Uber.
When economics meets psychology, the implications for individuals, managers and policy makers are both profound and entertaining.
Shortlisted for the Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award
ECONOMIST, FINANCIAL TIMES and EVENING STANDARD books of the year
From the renowned and entertaining behavioural economist and co-author of the seminal work Nudge, Misbehaving is an irreverent and enlightening look into human foibles. Traditional economics assumes that rational forces shape everything. Behavioural economics knows better. Richard Thaler has spent his career studying the notion that humans are central to the economy - and that we're error-prone individuals, not Spock-like automatons. Now behavioural economics is hugely influential, changing the way we think not just about money, but about ourselves, our world and all kinds of everyday decisions.
Whether buying an alarm clock, selling football tickets, or applying for a mortgage, we all succumb to biases and make decisions that deviate from the standards of rationality assumed by economists. In other words, we misbehave. Dismissed at first by economists as an amusing sideshow, the study of human miscalculations and their effects on markets now drives efforts to make better decisions in our lives, our businesses, and our governments.
Coupling recent discoveries in human psychology with a practical understanding of incentives and market behaviour, Thaler enlightens readers about how to make smarter decisions in an increasingly mystifying world. He reveals how behavioural economic analysis opens up new ways to look at everything from household finance to assigning faculty offices in a new building, to TV quiz shows, sports transfer seasons, and businesses like Uber.
When economics meets psychology, the implications for individuals, managers and policy makers are both profound and entertaining.
Ratings and reviews
4.2
20 reviews
Simon Guerin
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March 6, 2019
Focusing on the origins of behavioural economics, the book gives a great insight into the key people who helped form the subject, and the author’s journey over the past 40 years. The book steps through many of the founding principles and theories behind the field. Loss aversion, endowment effect, Binmore’s theory, prospect theory, confirmation bias and more. Each of these is backed up by a large number of examples and studies across an incredibly diverse set of industries and fields. This goes to highlight the utility that such studies can have on pretty much all industries and segments around the globe. Ever wanted to understand the best strategy for selecting rookies in the national draft, peer into the brain of high stakes casino players, understand the group mentality of stock investors, and even the chance someone will buy or sell something based on their attachment to it? This book peels back the layers of human psychology to shed more light on the inner workings of people. An incredibly fascinating read and perfect for anyone looking to get their first taste of behaviour economics and psychology.
7 people found this review helpful
Anil Das
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November 14, 2021
AÀA BOSS NETWORK
Ayush Pandey
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March 12, 2022
😆 😗 😏
About the author
Richard H. Thaler is the Ralph and Dorothy Keller Distinguished Service Professor of Behavioral Science and Economics and the director of the Center for Decision Research at the University of Chicago's Graduate School of Business. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2017.
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