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Tales of the Economy
While economic textbooks have long relied on a utility-maximization model of economic decision-making, Robert J. Shiller and other behavioral economists continue to demonstrate that human behavior is not so simple. The stories we use to frame our thinking and guide our actions might not always make sense, but they play a crucial role nonetheless.
https://prosyn.org/eJbQEV0
LONDON – Robert J. Shiller needs no introduction. Having made fundamental contributions to finance theory and behavioral economics, he was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 2013. In his new book, he pushes his interest in behavioral economics in new directions, highlighting the role of economic narratives in individual decision-making, macroeconomic fluctuations, boom-and-bust cycles, and financial crises. At the core of the book is the argument that one cannot understand individual decision-making and how it departs from the textbook utility-maximization model – much less its aggregate economic and financial consequences – without considering “economic narratives.”