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A review by branch_c
Misbehaving: The Making of Behavioral Economics by Richard H. Thaler
4.0
Maybe surprisingly, for a book about economics, this is a solid four plus. Thaler has a talent for clearly conveying information while also writing in a way that’s thoroughly entertaining, possibly rivaling Steven Pinker in this ability.
I’m guessing he could do it regardless of the inherent quality of the subject matter, but in this case the topic is actually interesting, at least to me: the transition in economics starting in the 70s that took the field away from the conventional wisdom about “rational” human behavior toward the understanding that people often don’t behave in the expected ways.
Thaler structures the book with anecdotes from his academic career, and since he played a significant part in the development of the emerging paradigm of behavioral economics, this turns out to be a great way to present the topic to the reader to give a sense of what happened.
In hindsight, it probably shouldn’t be surprising that people are not necessarily rational, and rely on “supposedly irrelevant factors” when making decisions. But the studies described here not only demonstrate this, but also characterize and even predict behavior. The more these ideas are understood, the more likely they are to inform changes to society that can potentially make the world a better place.
So, the book is nicely done; an enjoyable and informative read for anyone interested in economics, psychology, or really human behavior in general.
I’m guessing he could do it regardless of the inherent quality of the subject matter, but in this case the topic is actually interesting, at least to me: the transition in economics starting in the 70s that took the field away from the conventional wisdom about “rational” human behavior toward the understanding that people often don’t behave in the expected ways.
Thaler structures the book with anecdotes from his academic career, and since he played a significant part in the development of the emerging paradigm of behavioral economics, this turns out to be a great way to present the topic to the reader to give a sense of what happened.
In hindsight, it probably shouldn’t be surprising that people are not necessarily rational, and rely on “supposedly irrelevant factors” when making decisions. But the studies described here not only demonstrate this, but also characterize and even predict behavior. The more these ideas are understood, the more likely they are to inform changes to society that can potentially make the world a better place.
So, the book is nicely done; an enjoyable and informative read for anyone interested in economics, psychology, or really human behavior in general.