A guide to the study of how and why you really make financial decisions While classical economics is based on the notion that people act with rational self-interest, many key money decisions—like splurging on an expensive watch—can seem far from rational. The field of behavioral economics sheds light on the many subtle and not-so-subtle factors that contribute to our financial and purchasing choices. And in Behavioral Economics For Dummies, readers will learn how social and psychological factors, such as instinctual behavior patterns, social pressure, and mental framing, can dramatically affect our day-to-day decision-making and financial choices. Based on psychology and rooted in real-world examples, Behavioral Economics For Dummies offers the sort of insights designed to help investors avoid impulsive mistakes, companies understand the mechanisms behind individual choices, and governments and nonprofits make public decisions. A friendly introduction to the study of how and why people really make financial decisions The author is a professor of behavioral and institutional economics at Victoria University An essential component to improving your financial decision-making (and even to understanding current events), Behavioral Economics For Dummies is important for just about anyone who has a bank account and is interested in why—and when—they spend money.

A guide to the study of how and why you really make financial decisions While classical economics is based on the notion that people act with rational self-interest, many key money decisions—like splurging on an expensive watch—can seem far from rational. The field of behavioral economics sheds light on the many subtle and not-so-subtle factors that contribute to our financial and purchasing choices. And in Behavioral Economics For Dummies, readers will learn how social and psychological factors, such as instinctual behavior patterns, social pressure, and mental framing, can dramatically affect our day-to-day decision-making and financial choices. Based on psychology and rooted in real-world examples, Behavioral Economics For Dummies offers the sort of insights designed to help investors avoid impulsive mistakes, companies understand the mechanisms behind individual choices, and governments and nonprofits make public decisions. A friendly introduction to the study of how and why people really make financial decisions The author is a professor of behavioral and institutional economics at Victoria University An essential component to improving your financial decision-making (and even to understanding current events), Behavioral Economics For Dummies is important for just about anyone who has a bank account and is interested in why—and when—they spend money.

In this book, David K. Levine questions the idea that behavioral economics is the answer to economic problems. He explores the successes and failures of contemporary economics both inside and outside the laboratory, and asks whether popular behavioral theories of psychological biases are solutions to the failures. The book not only provides an overview of popular behavioral theories and their history, but also gives the reader the tools for scrutinizing them.

Grasp the history, principles, theories, and terminology of economics with this updated bestseller Since the initial publication of Economics For Dummies in 2005, the U.S. has endured a number of drastic changes and events that sent its economy into a tailspin. This newly revised edition presents updated material about the recent financial crisis and the steps taken to repair it. Packed with refreshed information and relevant new examples from today's economy, it gives you a straightforward, easy-to-grasp understanding of how the economy functions-and how it influences personal finances. New information on deciphering consumer behavior Refresh coverage of fiscal and monetary policies A new chapter on health care policy and the financial crisis Presenting complex theories in simple terms and helping you decode the jargon, understand the equations, and debunk the common misconceptions, Economics For Dummies tackles the topic in terms you can understand.

What is behavioral economics and why is it important? -- The ascent and dissent of economics -- Econ: homo economicus -- Human: more homer (simpson) than homo economicus -- Manners, monkeys and moods -- Nudge: whys, ways and weasels -- Sell! the commercial (and political) world of persuasion

This book presents the Metaeconomics Framework and Dual Interest Theory, which weave the empathy-based moral and ethical dimension back into key economic questions. Metaeconomics addresses the problem of placing too much emphasis on the market or the government, and thus argues that seeing the link between ego and empathy, self- and other-interest, and market and government will lead to a more just, fair, and sustainable polity. The unique Dual Interest Theory proposes that ego-based self-interest and empathy-based other-interest are joint and internal to each person: it maintains the original proposition from Adam Smith that each person maximizes their own-interest, which Metaeconomics makes clear involves balancing the two joint interests, although self-interest is more primal. The book begins with an explanation of how Metaeconomics connects the other kinds of economics. The book then provides a series of applications of Metaeconomics in heated policy issues, such as elections, finance, family, food, health, natural resources, education, taxes, and extreme inequality, among others. Finally, the book concludes that the only way to save capitalism is to bring empathy into both private and public actions and bring about a more humane balance in market and government.

In the last decade, behavioral economics, borrowing from psychology and sociology to explain decisions inconsistent with traditional economics, has revolutionized the way economists view the world. But despite this general success, behavioral thinking has fundamentally transformed only one field of applied economics-finance. Peter Diamond and Hannu Vartiainen's Behavioral Economics and Its Applications argues that behavioral economics can have a similar impact in other fields of economics. In this volume, some of the world's leading thinkers in behavioral economics and general economic theory make the case for a much greater use of behavioral ideas in six fields where these ideas have already proved useful but have not yet been fully incorporated--public economics, development, law and economics, health, wage determination, and organizational economics. The result is an attempt to set the agenda of an important development in economics--an agenda that will interest policymakers, sociologists, and psychologists as well as economists. Contributors include Ian Ayres, B. Douglas Bernheim, Truman F. Bewley, Colin F. Camerer, Anne Case, Michael D. Cohen, Peter Diamond, Christoph Engel, Richard G. Frank, Jacob Glazer, Seppo Honkapohja, Christine Jolls, Botond Koszegi, Ulrike Malmendier, Sendhil Mullainathan, Antonio Rangel, Emmanuel Saez, Eldar Shafir, Sir Nicholas Stern, Jean Tirole, Hannu Vartiainen, and Timothy D. Wilson.

The controversial science that claims to have revolutionised economics. For centuries, economics was dominated by the idea that we are rational individuals who optimise our own 'utility'. Then, in the 1970s, psychologists demonstrated that the reality is a lot messier. We don't really know what our utility is, and we care about people other than ourselves. We are susceptible to external nudges. And far from being perfectly rational we are prone to 'cognitive biases' with complex effects on decision-making, such as forgetting to prepare for retirement. David Orrell explores the findings from psychology and neuroscience that are shaking up economics - and that are being exploited by policy-makers and marketers alike, to shape everything from how we shop for food, to how we tackle societal happiness or climate change. Finally, he asks: is behavioural economics a scientific revolution, or just a scientific form of marketing?

Traditionally economists have based their economic predictions on the assumption that humans are super-rational creatures, using the information we are given efficiently and generally making selfish decisions that work well for us as individuals. Economists also assume that we're doing the very best we can possibly do - not only for today, but over our whole lifetimes too. But increasingly the study of behavioural economics is revealing that our lives are not that simple. Instead, our decisions are complicated by our own psychology. Each of us makes mistakes every day. We don't always know what's best for us and, even if we do, we might not have the self-control to deliver on our best intentions. We struggle to stay on diets, to get enough exercise and to manage our money. We misjudge risky situations. We are prone to herding: sometimes peer pressure leads us blindly to copy others around us; other times copying others helps us to learn quickly about new, unfamiliar situations. This Very Short Introduction explores the reasons why we make irrational decisions; how we decide quickly; why we make mistakes in risky situations; our tendency to procrastination; and how we are affected by social influences, personality, mood and emotions. The implications of understanding the rationale for our own financial behaviour are huge. Behavioural economics could help policy-makers to understand the people behind their policies, enabling them to design more effective policies, while at the same time we could find ourselves assaulted by increasingly savvy marketing. Michelle Baddeley concludes by looking forward, to see what the future of behavioural economics holds for us. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Why do people buy? A behavioral economist explains the science of consumer behavior in “the most important business book to come out in years” (Michael F. Schein, author and columnist for Inc., Forbes, and Psychology Today). What Your Customer Wants and Can’t Tell You explains the neuroscience of consumer behavior. Learn exactly why people buy—and how to use that knowledge to improve pricing, increase sales, create better “brain-friendly” brand messaging, and be a more effective leader. Behavioral economics is the marketing research future of brands and business. This book goes beyond an academic understanding of behavioral economics and into practical applications. Learn how real businesses and business professionals can use science to make their companies better. Business owner, consultant, and behavioral economics expert Melina Palmer helps leaders like you use the psychology of the consumer, innovation, and truly impactful branding to achieve real, bottom-line benefits. Discover information and tools you can actually use to influence consumers. Go beyond data science and learn how the consumer brain works. Dramatically improve your effectiveness as a leader and marketer with: · Real-world examples that bring a concept to life and make it stick · Ideas to help you with problem solving for your business · Ways to hack your brain into coming up with innovative programs, products, and initiatives “A stand-out guide for anyone fascinated by customer behavior and the science of decision-making.” —Madeline Quinlan, cofounder of Salient Behavioral Consultants