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person1980s-present

Richard Thaler

Disciplines:
behavioral economics

Summary

American behavioral economist who developed nudge theory — applying behavioral economics insights to policy — and won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2017.

Core Contribution

Mental accounting: people track money in separate mental accounts with different rules rather than treating it as fungible. Endowment effect: people value things they own more than equivalent things they do not own. Nudge (with Sunstein): small changes in choice architecture can substantially change behavior without restricting freedom — libertarian paternalism.

Notable Works & Achievements

Quasi-Rational Economics

The Winner's Curse

Nudge

Misbehaving

Historical Influences

Daniel Kahneman Amos Tversky

Intellectual Lineage

Behavioral Economics Cognitive Psychology

Contemporaries & Peers

Daniel Kahneman Cass Sunstein

Minds Influenced

Behavioral Policy UK Nudge Unit

Intellectual Posterity

Nudge Theory Behavioral Policy

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Richard Thaler

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