Monthly Archives: September 2017

Noisy people

Posted on September 29, 2017 by koenfucius

(featured image: Mysid/Wikimedia) Our decision-making is biased, but an even bigger limitation is that it is noisy. So what? The loudest and longest standing criticism of neoclassical economics is that it assumes us meatbags are rational, self-interested, utility maximizing individuals, … Continue reading →

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

A token of appreciation

Posted on September 22, 2017 by koenfucius

(featured image credit: Crishna Simmons) About the remarkably behavioural approach supermarkets have taken to buff up their image and engage their customers in the process Companies are learning that being seen to ‘do the right thing’ is good for their brand … Continue reading →

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Pricing under pressure

Posted on September 15, 2017 by koenfucius

(featured image credit: Alex W) Should morality, rather than the market, dictate the right price of goods and services in emergency situations? In his book Misbehaving, behavioural economist Richard Thaler relates an interesting experiment he conducted with Daniel Kahneman and Jack … Continue reading →

Posted in Behavioural economics, Cognitive biases and fallacies, Economics, Emotions, Ethics, Morality, Philosophy | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

A cocktail of biases

Posted on September 8, 2017 by koenfucius

(featured image: delo) Jumping to conclusions – the easiest kind of exercise, especially on a Sunday morning I learned three things this week: two things I didn’t know, and one thing I did know, but regularly seem to forget. All of … Continue reading →

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An accidental behavioural economist on holiday

Posted on September 1, 2017 by koenfucius

(featured image credit: Stocksnap) (Behavioural) economics lenses don’t stop working when you’re on break, it seems It is sometimes said that “economics is the study of human behaviour”. (A Google search of this exact phrase produces over 30,000 hits, so … Continue reading →

Posted in Behavioural economics, Economics | Tagged | 1 Comment