Misbehaving: The Making Of Behavioral Economics Apr 2026

The book's central "plot" revolves around a battle between two species:

is available through retailers like Walmart, Barnes & Noble , and World of Books . Misbehaving: The Making of Behavioral Economics Misbehaving: The Making of Behavioral Economics

: The mythical, hyper-rational agents found in traditional economic textbooks. They have the processing power of a supercomputer, no emotions, and never succumb to temptation. The book's central "plot" revolves around a battle

Thaler uses engaging, often funny anecdotes to prove his points, including: Thaler uses engaging, often funny anecdotes to prove

The story of is an irreverent, autobiographical account of how Richard H. Thaler (Nobel Prize winner and author of Nudge ) spent four decades challenging the core assumptions of traditional economics .

: A hardware store raising the price of snow shovels during a blizzard might make "economic sense" to an Econ, but it makes real Humans feel cheated, damaging the store's reputation—a concept of fairness traditional models ignored. The Struggle for Acceptance

: At a dinner party, guests were devouring a bowl of cashews. Thaler removed the bowl to stop them from ruining their dinner. The guests thanked him, even though traditional economics says more choices (having the cashews available) is always better than fewer.