Behavioral Economics For Dummies
- 6h 43m
- Morris Altman
- John Wiley & Sons (US)
- 2012
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.
About the Author
A former visiting scholar at Cornell, Duke, Hebrew, and Stanford universities, Morris Altman is currently professor of behavioral and institutional economics and head of the School of Economics and Finance at Victoria University of Wellington. He is also professor of economics at the University of Saskatchewan, where he was head of the Department of Economics from 1994 to 2009. Recently, Morris was elected Visiting Fellow at St. Edmund’s College, Cambridge University, and was a Visiting Scholar at Stirling University in Scotland and an Erskine Fellow at the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand.
Morris was elected and served as president of the Society for the Advancement of Behavioral Economics (SABE) from 2003 to 2006. In 2009, he was elected president of the Association for Social Economics. He is editor of the Journal of Socio-Economics (Elsevier Science) and former Associate Editor of the Journal of Economic Psychology, where he remains on the editorial board.
Morris has published over 80 refereed papers on behavioral economics, economic history, methodology, and empirical macroeconomics and four books in economic theory and public policy and has made over 150 international presentations on these subjects. He is currently completing three books on related subjects and is researching endogenous technical change, the linkages between economic justice (human rights), power, and economic growth and development, as well as the importance of altruism, ethics, and reciprocity in economic theory.
Morris is also leading major projects in experimental economics. One examines the role of prices, incomes, and social variables in determining consumer demand. Another investigates the conditions under which improved working conditions affect effort inputs and how this might impact unit costs and profitability.
He currently lives in Wellington, New Zealand.
In this Book
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Behavioral Economics for Dummies
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Introduction
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Decoding Behavioral Economics
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Getting Real about Assumptions
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Neuroeconomics: Exploring the Brain for Economic Analysis
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Why Incentives and Markets Matter, but Money Isn’t Everything
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Exploring the Limits to Free Choice
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Quick and Simple Heuristics and Real-World Decision Making
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How the Framing of Choices Affects Decision Making
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How Norms, Peers, History, and Culture Influence Choice
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Why Gender, Children, and Age Matter for Economic Analysis
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Why Smart People Pay Taxes, Recycle, and Even Break the Law
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Labor Supply in the Real World
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The Black Box of the Firm: Human Relationships and Productivity
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The Good Economy: How Ethical Behavior Can Grow the Economy
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Why Institutions Matter
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Deciphering Behavioral Finance
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Looking into Recessions and Depressions
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The Art and Science of Happiness: Can You Be Happy without More Money?
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Ten (Or So) Key Public Policy Implications of Behavioral Economics
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Ten (Or So) Experiments in Behavioral Economics
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Ten Decision-Making Lessons from Behavioral Economics
