Summary:Traditional economics assumes that rational forces shape everything. Behavioural economics knows better. Richard Thaler has spent his career studying the notion that humans are central to the economy - and that we're error-prone individuals, not Spock-like automatons. Now behavioural economics is hugely influential, changing the way we think not just about money, but about ourselves, our world and all kinds of everyday decisions. Whether buying an alarm clock, selling football 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. 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 behaviour, Thaler enlightens readers about how to make smarter decisions in an increasingly mystifying world. He reveals how behavioural economic analysis opens up new ways to look at everything from household finance to assigning faculty offices in a new building, to TV quiz shows, sports transfer seasons, and businesses like Uber. When economics meets psychology, the implications for individuals, managers and policy makers are both profound and entertaining

I.BEGINNINGS: 1970
78
1.Supposedly Irrelevant Factors
2.The Endowment Effect
3.The List
4.Value Theory
5.California Dreamin'
6.The Gauntlet
II.MENTAL ACCOUNTING: 1979
85
7.Bargains and Rip-Offs
8.Sunk Costs
9.Buckets and Budgets
10.At the Poker Table
III.SELF-CONTROL: 1975
88
11.Willpower? No Problem
12.The Planner and the Doer
INTERLUDE
13.Misbehaving in the Real World
IV.WORKING WITH DANNY: 1984
85
14.What Seems Fair?
15.Fairness Games
16.Mugs
V.ENGAGING WITH THE ECONOMICS PROFESSION: 1986
94
17.The Debate Begins
18.Anomalies
19.Forming a Team
20.Narrow Framing on the Upper East Side
VI.FINANCE: 1983
2003
21.The Beauty Contest
22.Does the Stock Market Overreact?
23.The Reaction to Overreaction
24.The Price Is Not Right
25.The Battle of Closed-End Funds
26.Fruit Flies, Icebergs, and Negative Stock Prices
VII.WELCOME TO CHICAGO: 1995
PRESENT
27.Law Schooling
28.The Offices
29.Football
30.Game Shows
VIII.HELPING OUT: 2004
PRESENT
31.Save More Tomorrow
32.Going Public
33.Nudging in the U.K

Originally published: New York: W.W. Norton; London: Allen Lane, 2015