Category Archives: Behavioural economics

First impressions of ‘Nudge’ by Thaler & Sunstein

It’s funny and goes out of its way to stress it libertarian credentials – many of the policy examples they give have been implemented by the private sector. The Government interventions they advocate aim to modify the role of the … Continue reading

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The Myth of the Rational Voter – part II

A while back I posted in response to Bryan Caplan’s essay (and now book) on voter irrationality. He views human misconceptions, about economics in particular, (he quotes how people are wrong in orders of magnitude about the extent of foreign … Continue reading

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Paternalism on a slippery slope?

One of the common complaints against the idea of ‘libertarian paternalism’ – the idea that the state, or indeed the market should help us overcome our biases – is that it’s a slippery slope. Mandate that fruit be served before … Continue reading

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Birkbeck lecture slides

For those students who attended the lecture last night, here are the behavioural-economics-slides.ppt. I’ve added a slide to reflect some comments and ideas from the class discussion. After the weekend, I’ll give a few additional pointers to the sort of … Continue reading

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A load of Pony

Was there ever a more appropriate title for Adam Curtis’ slickly edited follow up to the Power of Nightmares? His thesis, that the failure of political society and democracy is due to our enthusiastic embrace of free markets and the hyper-rational seflish … Continue reading

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Who chooses for the chooser?

The Economist blog weighs in with this: behavioural economics can point to many interesting irregularities in behaviour, but it cannot dictate political beliefs such as the level of government intrusion into the economy. If we put the government in charge … Continue reading

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Ending free banking not a blessing for all

The BBC reports of moves towards ending free banking in the UK, and charging customers for current accounts. Graham Beale, the incoming CEO of Nationwide says, In a way, I do believe fee-based banking is a fairer proposition We might … Continue reading

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Gift giving: One problem, two explanations, same conclusion

At an interview a few years back I was asked if I would give cash to someone, or buy a gift. The traditional economics answer is of course to stump up the dosh, uless you can buy a gift that … Continue reading

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Who says psychology and economics don’t pay off?

Certainly not this guy, a cognitive neuroscientist who used his knowledge of how memory works to win $500,000. When I’ve watched TV quiz shows and played along, I’ve either known the answer or used probabilistic reasoning, which goes something like … Continue reading

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How not to delay Christmas shopping – the costly way

Christmas comes but once a year – so how come it seems to take me by surprise as far as gift shopping goes? Of course, despite the advance warning, I never contemplate doing the shopping in September, partly because I … Continue reading

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