Richard Thaler

Richard Thaler is an American economist whose research helped establish behavioral economics by showing how psychological biases shape economic decisions. He shared the 2017 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.

Behavioral economics: Behavioral economics studies how psychological factors influence economic decisions and outcomes. The field Thaler helped establish by challenging assumptions of consistently rational choice.
Nudge theory: An approach to influencing choices by arranging options without removing alternatives or substantially changing incentives. Thaler and Cass Sunstein applied behavioral findings to practical policy design.
Behavioral finance: The study of how psychological biases and social influences shape financial markets and investment decisions. Thaler brought behavioral explanations to anomalies that standard finance struggled to account for.
Daniel Kahneman: An Israeli-American psychologist whose research on judgment and decision-making helped found behavioral economics. Kahneman’s collaboration with Thaler connected psychological experiments to economic theory.
2017 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences: The economics prize awarded to Richard Thaler for contributions to behavioral economics. The award recognized his work on psychological realism in economic analysis.
Prospect theory: A theory of choice under risk in which people evaluate gains and losses relative to a reference point. Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky’s account of judgment under risk shaped Thaler’s work.
Choice architecture: The design of how options are presented and organized for decision-makers. Thaler’s policy work turns this design into a means of shaping behavior.
Retirement savings: Money set aside during working life to provide income after employment ends. Automatic enrollment and Save More Tomorrow address persistent under-saving.
Amos Tversky: An Israeli cognitive psychologist who co-developed prospect theory and research on human judgment under uncertainty. His work with Kahneman supplied key findings Thaler brought into economics.
Nudge (book): A 2008 book by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein on choice architecture and libertarian paternalism. It carried Thaler’s research into public debate and government practice.

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