#6 in Economics
Misbehaving
- 432
- Pages
- about 8 h
- Reading time
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About the book
Winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics Get ready to change the way you think about economics. Nobel laureate 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 readers about how to make smarter decisions in an increasingly mystifying world.
Where the score comes from
The sources average 8.2 across 93 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 38% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Economics average of 7.8. That is how 8.0 comes out.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 8.5 | 8 | 9% |
| Hardcover | 8.2 | 85 | 91% |
Reader voices
The most-liked reviews on Hardcover (credited to their authors).
“My undergraduate training in the traditional/rational theories of economics made this book fascinating. I feel more up to speed with what the field has done since I graduated. I'm not sure I would have loved the later chapters as much had I not already been exposed to many of the economists referenced.”
“It is a great book on behavioral economics, when and how it has developed, who were involved, why it was developed and why it is relevant, and how it can be applied in various fields. Thaler previews his another book “Nudge” almost at the end…”
Frequently asked
How long is Misbehaving?
It has 432 pages — longer than 83% of the ranked books in Economics.
If you liked this
Same shelf — Economics — with scores between 7.8 and 8.0, closest to this book.
