01 / Classic Textbook Recommendation
Classic Textbook Recommendation
Who this book is for
Upper-level undergraduates and master's students taking a dedicated course in behavioural economics, and students in psychology, management or public policy who want a structured economic treatment of decision-making. It is also useful to readers who have met popular accounts of nudges and biases and now want the underlying models and debates.
Prerequisites
Intermediate microeconomics is expected, and some familiarity with basic probability and algebra helps.
What it covers
After a methodological introduction on rationality and the role of evidence, the book treats values and preferences, beliefs and heuristics, choices under risk and prospect theory, mental accounting, intertemporal choice and present bias, strategic interaction and behavioural game theory, social preferences such as fairness and reciprocity, and evolutionary and neuroeconomic perspectives. It closes with policy applications and an assessment of the field.
How to use it
Read the opening methodological chapters first, since later chapters return to their questions about what counts as rational. Work through the case studies at the end of chapters, and compare each behavioural model with the standard model it modifies and the evidence offered for it.
Edition and sources
This record describes the third edition, published in December 2017 under the Red Globe Press imprint and now distributed by Bloomsbury Academic. Bibliographic data comes from the Campusbokhandeln catalog page, with British Library and Google Books records agreeing.