Toward a Wider Vision of Behavioral Economics

This book challenges constructively the conventional wisdom that behavioral economics should be viewed primarily as being about "nudge"-based policies and how choices are affected by "supposedly irrelevant factors" and bias-inducing heuristics. Its author began studying behavioral economics in the mid-1970s at the University of Cambridge, inspired by existing behavioral contributions of which most modern behavioral economists are largely oblivious. The intellectual journey that followed led him to a much richer view of behavioral economics and its research opportunities than the one championed by Nobel Laureate Richard Thaler. The book provides an account of this journey, the key sources of inspiration and the main themes in the author's contributions to the field. It then closes with a summary of the view at which he arrived. To help early-career behavioral economists further reduce their risks of career under-achievement, the author reflects candidly, along the way, on strategic mistakes he made that contributed to the wider view not attracting the attention that its potential warrants.