Behavioural Economics

Psychology, neuroscience, and the human side of economics

David Orrell

$25.99

Paperback

Forthcoming
Pre-Order now

QTY:

English

Icon Books
01 May 2025

Social, group or collective psychology; Economic theory & philosophy

Series: Hot Science

For centuries, economics was dominated by the idea that we are rational individuals who optimise our own 'utility'. Then, in the 1970s, psychologists demonstrated that the reality is a lot messier. We don't really know what our utility is, and we care about people other than ourselves. We are susceptible to external nudges. And far from being perfectly rational we are prone to 'cognitive biases' with complex effects on decision-making, such as forgetting to prepare for retirement.

David Orrell explores the findings from psychology and neuroscience that are shaking up economics - and that are being exploited by policy-makers and marketers alike, to shape everything from how we shop for food, to how we tackle societal happiness or climate change. Finally, he asks: is behavioural economics a scientific revolution, or just a scientific form of marketing?

By: David Orrell
Imprint: Icon Books
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 198mm, Width: 129mm, Spine: 8mm
Weight: 138g
ISBN: 9781785786440
ISBN 10: 178578644X
Series: Hot Science
Pages: 192
Publication Date: 01 May 2025
Audience: General/trade , Professional and scholarly , General/trade , ELT Advanced , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

David Orrell is a scientist and writer of books on science and economics. His latest books are Economyths: 11 Ways Economics Gets It Wrong (Icon Books, 2017), and Quantum Economics: The New Science of Money (Icon Books, 2018).