Behavioral Economics For Dummies

The guide to understanding why people really make economic and financial decisions

The field of behavioral economics sheds light on the many subtle and not-so-subtle factors that contribute to financial and purchasing choices. This friendly guide explores how socialand psychological factors, such as instinctual behavior patterns, social pressure, and mental framing, can dramatically affect our day-to-day decision making and financial choices. Based on psychology and sociology and rooted in real-world examples, Behavioral Economics For Dummies offers the sort of insights designed to help investors avoid impulsive mistakes, companies understand the mechanisms behind individual choices, and governments and nonprofits make public decisions.

• Make realistic assumptions for economic analysis — investigate the assumptions conventional economics makes, and discover how behavioral economists introduce social, psychological, and cultural considerations

• Explore the relationship between the brain and economics — understand how human behavior and surroundings affect economic phenomena

• Examine the role of free choice in economic decision making — review the conditions that are necessary in order for people to make choices that reflect their true preferences, given the constraints they face

• Get happy — recognize that factors other than wealth and money are critically important to a person's happiness, as defined by behavioral economics

Learn to:

• Understand how social and psychological factors affect our economic and financial decisions

• Grasp how governments and experts influence our choices

• Avoid making impulsive and uninformed decisions

• Appreciate why ethics are important to our choices

Open the book and find:

• The many subtle factors that contribute to our financial and purchasing choices

• Why people really make financial decisions

• Real-world examples of how behavioral economics affects our lives

• What social and psychological factors affect our decision making

• How to use behavioral economics to be happier

• Why government policies affect the economy

• Helpful consumer tips

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