Get ready to change the way you think about economics. 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. Acclaim for Misbehaving 'The creative genius who invented the field of behavioural economics is also a master storyteller and a very funny man. All these talents are on display in this wonderful book.' Daniel Kahneman, winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics and Author of Thinking, Fast and Slow ' Misbehaving gives us the story behind some of the most important insights in modern economics. If I had to be trapped in an elevator with any contemporary intellectual, I'd pick Richard Thaler.
' Malcolm Gladwell 'Richard Thaler has been at the centre of the most important revolution to happen in economics in the last thirty years. In this captivating book, he lays out the evidence for behavioural economics and explains why there was so much resistance to it. Read Misbehaving . There is no better guide to this new and exciting economics.' Robert J. Shiller, winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics and Author of Finance and the Good Society.