Behavioural Economics

Calls for deposit return scheme now, with report tracing 65% of branded packaging pollution back to 12 firms

At the turn of the century, behavioural economics was a hot topic. It identified phenomena that standard models could not explain.For example, the bursting of the dot-com bubble in 2000 came at the end of a period in which standard indicators, such as price-earnings ratios, were completely out of line with the predictions of efficient markets as depicted by what we will refer to as conventional economics.

People don’t always act “rationally.” Nudges might be able to lead to better doctors and healthier patients.

French bakery group Paul and sandwich chain Pret a Manger will  begin offering discounts to customers bringing in their own reusable cups, yielding to pressure from environmental groups concerned about the mountains of cardboard waste generated in the UK each year.  

Nudge theory has been used to identify why people smoke or fail to pay taxes on time, can it now be used to fight malnutrition and open defecation?

Scientists to give supermarkets a makeover to cut meat consumption

This is a quick primer on the ways in which behavioural economics challenges the assumptions the null model of agent behaviour that dominated conventional…

A conversation with Michael Lewis about his new book on the research of Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky

It ain't easy getting people to save money

A proposal to help British breweries and pubs promote responsible drinking, by Luc Bovens. The Government uses various policy tools to reduce alcohol

Here is a downloadable document on three public policy issues (low savings, obesity and gambling addiction) and relationships with behavioural economics. 

Below is a pdf download of a presentation on consumer behaviour that I did for our Yr12 and Yr 13 students last week. It focuses on the following: Hedonic Treadmil - Paradox of Choice - Algorithms and Choice - Happy Money - Well-being around the world. Click here to download. I particularly like these images.

This series of 10-question MCQ quizzes are for A Level Economics students to test their knowledge and understanding of Behavioural Economics.

Donald Trump may actually have the political power to enact the single-payer approach, but Republicans are extremely unlikely to embrace it.

Gauri Chandra discusses the behavioural alternatives to reducing plastic bags use without charging 5p for purchasing a bag.

The integration of neuroscience, psychology, microeconomic theory, and social intelligence has bred a field that provides insights and underlying assumptions to our normal interactions.

Farewell to one of our favourite CEOs - Howard Schultz - who is stepping down as CEO of Starbucks from April 2017.

A Princeton psychology professor explains our inability to overcome bias.