Sample
  • Misbehaving

  • The Making of Behavioral Economics
  • By: Richard H. Thaler
  • Narrated by: L. J. Ganser
  • Length: 13 hrs and 35 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (6,429 ratings)

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Misbehaving

By: Richard H. Thaler
Narrated by: L. J. Ganser
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Editorial reviews

Editors Select, May 2015 - With the backing of two Nobel Prize winners in the field of Economics and a ringing endorsement from Malcolm Gladwell, who said, 'If I had to be trapped in an elevator with any contemporary intellectual, I'd pick Richard Thaler,' I knew Misbehaving would be an enlightening listen. But it was also entertaining in the way that a great college class can be, with the professor using real-life scenarios and his own biography to color his points. In Misbehaving, Thaler argues against the traditional economic thinking that humans are 'homo economicus' – rational decision makers programmed to act in their best interests – and asserts, instead, that our consistent deviation from these assumed standards reveals new ways to think about the world. —Doug, Audible Editor

Publisher's summary

Get ready to change the way you think about economics.

Richard H. Thaler has spent his career studying the radical notion that the central agents in the economy are humans - predictable, error-prone individuals. Misbehaving is his arresting, frequently hilarious account of the struggle to bring an academic discipline back down to earth - and change the way we think about economics, ourselves, and our world.

Traditional economics assumes rational actors. Early in his research, Thaler realized these Spock-like automatons were nothing like real people. Whether buying a clock radio, selling basketball 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. More importantly, our misbehavior has serious consequences. 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 behavior, Thaler enlightens listeners about how to make smarter decisions in an increasingly mystifying world. He reveals how behavioral economic analysis opens up new ways to look at everything from household finance to assigning faculty offices in a new building to TV game shows, the NFL draft, and businesses like Uber.

Laced with antic stories of Thaler's spirited battles with the bastions of traditional economic thinking, Misbehaving is a singular look into profound human foibles. When economics meets psychology, the implications for individuals, managers, and policy makers are both profound and entertaining.

©2015 Richard H. Thaler (P)2015 Audible, Inc.

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