The rise of behavioral economics: Richard Thaler's misbehaving

Cass R. Sunstein ()
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Cass R. Sunstein: Harvard Law School

Journal of Behavioral Economics for Policy, 2018, vol. 2, issue 1, 53-57

Abstract: Behavioral economics emerged in the 1980s, above all because of the creative work of Richard Thaler, exploring the relevance of the endowment effect, mental accounting, concern for fairness, and other "anomalies" from the standpoint of standard economic theory. His engaging book, Misbehaving, offers a narrative account of how these ideas came about, and also explores some of their implications for the future. Continuing challenges include making predictions when behavioral findings cut in different directions (as, for example, where optimistic bias conflicts with availability bias); understanding the line between nudging and manipulation; and applying behavioral findings to pressing public policy challenges, such as poverty, education, terrorism, and climate change.

Keywords: Richard Thaler; Nobel Prize; behavioral economics; endowment effect; value of a statistical life; Nudge; misbehaving (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: B31 D9 E71 G41 J17 J26 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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