Monthly Archives: April 2017

Too much commitment is bad news

Posted on April 28, 2017 by koenfucius

Featured image via ytimg.com What can go wrong when tenacity goes too far People who keep going in the face of adversity speak to our emotions and our imagination like few other things do. Inspirational books are often written by (or … Continue reading →

Posted in Behavioural economics, Cognitive biases and fallacies, Emotions | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The dark side of nudging?

Posted on April 21, 2017 by koenfucius

(featured image: socialneuron) Are companies like Uber really into nudging for evil? In a recent New York Times article, the maverick taxi company Uber came under fire for “pulling psychological levers” to influence when and where their drivers work. A company … Continue reading →

Posted in Behavioural economics, Cognitive biases and fallacies, Economics, Ethics | Tagged , | Leave a comment

The problem with preferences

Posted on April 14, 2017 by koenfucius

(Featured image: Images Money) Can an objective measure like money help determine what we really, really want? A cynic, Oscar Wilde wrote in his play Lady Windermere’s Fan, is “a man knows the price of everything, and the value of nothing”. … Continue reading →

Posted in Behavioural economics, Economics | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Strange dictators

Posted on April 7, 2017 by koenfucius

An old game is turned upside down, and the results are surprising An old favourite in behavioural science, often wheeled out to show that we are not ‘rational’, is the Dictator Game. According to standard economic theory, people should be … Continue reading →

Posted in Behavioural economics, Cognitive biases and fallacies, Philosophy | Tagged | Leave a comment