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{{Short description|American economist and Nobel Laureate (born 1945)}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name              = Richard Thaler
| image             = Richard Thaler Chatham.jpg
| caption           = Thaler in 2015
| birth_date        = {{birth date and age|1945|9|12}}
| birth_place       = [[East Orange, New Jersey]], U.S.
| death_date        =
| death_place       =
| education         = [[Case Western Reserve University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])<br />[[University of Rochester]] ([[Master of Arts|MA]], [[Doctor of Philosophy|PhD]])
| spouse            = France Leclerc
| children          = 3
| awards            = [[Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences]] {{small|(2017)}}
| field             = [[Behavioral economics]], [[Behavioral finance]], [[Nudge theory]]
| workplaces        = [[University of Rochester]]<br />[[Cornell University]]<br />[[University of Chicago]]
| thesis_title      = The Value of Saving a Life: A Market Estimate
| thesis_url        = https://www.proquest.com/docview/302758459/
| thesis_year       = 1974
| doctoral_advisor  = [[Sherwin Rosen]]
}}

'''Richard H.  Thaler''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|θ|eɪ|l|ər}};<ref>{{Citation|last=Talks at Google|title=Richard Thaler: "Misbehaving: The Making of Behavioral Economics" {{!}} Talks at Google|date=2015-06-03|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42qbHeFxdzE&t=456|access-date=2018-11-19}}</ref> born September 12, 1945) is an American [[economics|economist]] and the [[Charles R. Walgreen]] Distinguished Service Professor of Behavioral Science and Economics at the [[University of Chicago Booth School of Business]]. In 2015, Thaler was president of the [[American Economic Association]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aeaweb.org/about-aea/leadership/officers|title=American Economic Association|website=www.aeaweb.org|language=en|access-date=2017-11-05}}</ref>

Thaler is a theorist in [[behavioral economics]]. He has collaborated with [[Daniel Kahneman]], [[Amos Tversky]], and others in further defining that field. In 2018, he was elected a member in the [[National Academy of Sciences]].

In 2017, he was awarded the [[Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences]] for his contributions to behavioral economics.<ref>Multiple sources:
* {{cite news |last=Appelbaum |first=Binyamin |title=Nobel in Economics Is Awarded to Richard Thaler |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=October 9, 2017 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/09/business/nobel-economics-richard-thaler.html |access-date=October 11, 2017}}
* {{cite news |last=Gauthier-Villars |first=David |title=Nobel Prize in Economics Awarded to American Richard Thaler |newspaper=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |date=October 9, 2017 |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/nobel-prize-in-economics-awarded-to-richard-h-thaler-1507543046 |access-date=October 11, 2017}}
* {{cite news |last1=Keyton |first1=David |last2=Heintz |first2=Jim |title=American Richard Thaler wins Nobel Prize in Economics |agency=[[Associated Press]] |work=[[USA Today]] |date=October 9, 2017 |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2017/10/09/economics-prize-last-nobels-awarded/745272001/ |access-date=October 11, 2017}}
* {{cite news |last=Tetlow |first=Gemma |title=Richard Thaler awarded 2017 Nobel prize in economics |newspaper=[[Financial Times]] |date=October 9, 2017 |url=https://www.ft.com/content/49f68431-8675-3a0c-ab51-b90c230ed2ba |access-date=October 11, 2017}}</ref> In its announcement, the [[Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences]] stated that his "contributions have built a bridge between the economic and psychological analyses of individual [[decision-making]]. His empirical findings and theoretical insights have been instrumental in creating the new and rapidly expanding field of behavioral economics."<ref>Multiple sources:
* {{cite news |last1=Pollard |first1=Niklas |last2=Ringstrom |first2=Anna |title=We're all human: 'Nudge' theorist Thaler wins economics Nobel |work=[[Reuters]] |date=October 9, 2017 |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nobel-prize-economics/were-all-human-nudge-theorist-thaler-wins-economics-nobel-idUSKBN1CE0X5 |access-date=October 11, 2017}}
* {{Cite news|url=http://lucidez.pe/economia/richard-thaler-y-el-auge-de-la-economia-conductual-por-marco-carrasco/|title=Richard Thaler y el auge de la Economía Conductual|last=Carrasco-Villanueva|first=Marco|date=2017-10-18|language=es|work=Lucidez|access-date=2018-10-31}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Thaler was born in [[East Orange, New Jersey]], to a Jewish family.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.jpost.com/Diaspora/Jewish-American-wins-Nobel-Prize-in-economics-507105|title=Jewish American wins Nobel Prize in economics|newspaper=[[The Jerusalem Post]]}}</ref> His mother, Roslyn (née Melnikoff) was a teacher, and later a real estate agent<ref>{{cite web|url=https://m.legacy.com/obituaries/azcentral/obituary.aspx?n=roslyn-melnikoff-thaler&pid=118218149&referrer=0&preview=false|publisher=Legacy.com|date=1 October 2008|title=Roslyn Melnikoff Thaler Obituary from The Arizona Republic}}</ref> while his father, Alan Maurice Thaler, was an actuary at the [[Prudential Financial]] in [[Newark, New Jersey]], and was born in [[Toronto]].<ref>Multiple sources:
* {{cite web |url=https://www.advisorperspectives.com/commentaries/2017/08/29/masters-series-interview-with-richard-h-thaler-phd?channel=Capital+Growth |title=Masters Series Interview with Richard H. Thaler, PhD – IMCA – Commentaries – Advisor Perspectives |website=www.advisorperspectives.com |access-date=October 11, 2017}}
* {{cite web |url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/azcentral/obituary.aspx?n=alan-m-thaler&pid=2206746 |title=Alan M. Thaler Obituary from The Arizona Republic |website=Legacy.com |access-date=October 11, 2017}}
* {{cite web |url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/azcentral/obituary.aspx?n=roslyn-melnikoff-thaler&pid=118218149 |title=Roslyn Melnikoff Thaler Obituary from The Arizona Republic |website=Legacy.com|access-date=October 11, 2017}}</ref> He has three children from his first marriage and is now married to France Leclerc, a former marketing professor at the University of Chicago and avid photographer.<ref>Multiple sources:
* {{Cite news|url=http://franceleclerc.com/about/|title=About – france leclerc|work=france leclerc.com|access-date=February 28, 2018|language=en-US}}
* {{cite news|last=Harford | first=Tim | date=August 2, 2019 | title=Richard Thaler: 'If you want people to do something, make it easy' | url=https://www.ft.com/content/a317c302-aa2b-11e9-984c-fac8325aaa04 | work=Financial Times | accessdate=August 3, 2019}}
* {{cite news |newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]] |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2012/04/30/profile-richard-thaler-university-of-chicago-booth-school-of-business-professor/ |title=Profile: Richard Thaler, University of Chicago Booth School of Business professor |date=April 30, 2012 |first=Gregory |last=Karp |access-date=October 11, 2017}}</ref>

{{Nudge Theory}}

== Education ==
Thaler graduated from [[Newark Academy]],<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://issuu.com/newarka/docs/lumen_proof_051716_cropped/50 |title=Lumen |issue=Spring 2016 |date=June 2, 2016 |pages=48–49 |publisher=Newark Academy |access-date=October 11, 2017}}</ref> before going on to receive his [[Bachelor of Arts|B.A.]] degree in 1967 from [[Case Western Reserve University]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://thedaily.case.edu/alumnus-richard-h-thaler-earns-nobel-prize-work-behavioral-economics/ |title=Alumnus Richard H. Thaler earns Nobel Prize for work in behavioral economics |date=October 9, 2017 |access-date=October 11, 2017}}</ref> and his [[Master of Arts|M.A.]] in 1970 and [[Doctor of Philosophy|Ph.D.]] degree in 1974 from the [[University of Rochester]], writing his thesis on  "The Value of Saving A Life: A Market Estimate" under the supervision of [[Sherwin Rosen]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://faculty.chicagobooth.edu/richard.thaler/vitae/cv.pdf |title=Richard H. Thaler |publisher=Booth School of Business CV |access-date=October 11, 2017 |archive-date=October 12, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171012205311/https://faculty.chicagobooth.edu/richard.thaler/vitae/CV.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> He also studied under departmental chair and neoclassicist [[Richard N. Rosett|Richard Rosett]], whose wine-buying habits were featured in his research on behavioral economics.<ref>Multiple sources :
* {{Cite web|last=Lowenstein|first=Roger|title=Exuberance Is Rational|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9406E1DC113EF932A25751C0A9679C8B63|access-date=2021-07-06|website=query.nytimes.com|language=en}}
* {{Cite web|title=The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2017|url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/economic-sciences/2017/thaler/biographical/|access-date=2021-07-06|website=NobelPrize.org|language=en-US}}
* {{Cite web|title=Behavioral economics from nuts to 'nudges'|url=https://review.chicagobooth.edu/behavioral-science/2018/article/behavioral-economics-nuts-nudges|access-date=2021-07-06|website=Chicago Booth Review|language=en}}</ref>

== Academic career ==
After completing his studies, Thaler began his career as a professor at the University of Rochester.

Between 1977 and 1978, Thaler spent a year at [[Stanford University]] collaborating and researching with [[Daniel Kahneman]] and [[Amos Tversky]], who provided him with the theoretical framework to fit many of the economic anomalies that he had identified, such as the [[endowment effect]].<ref name="auto">{{Cite news|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2012/04/30/profile-richard-thaler-university-of-chicago-booth-school-of-business-professor/|title=Profile: Richard Thaler, University of Chicago Booth School of Business professor|work=tribunedigital-chicagotribune|access-date=2018-02-28|language=en}}</ref>

From 1978 to 1995, he was a faculty member at the [[Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management|SC Johnson College of Business]] at [[Cornell University]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2017/10/playful-nobel-prize-winner-laid-groundwork-his-field-cornell|title=A 'playful' Nobel Prize winner laid groundwork for his field at Cornell|website=news.cornell.edu|language=en|access-date=2018-02-28}}</ref> Cornell established in 1989 the Center for Behavioral Economics and Decision Research, with Thaler as founding director.

After gathering some attention with a regular column in the respected ''[[Journal of Economic Perspectives]]'' (which ran between 1987 and 1990) and the publication of these columns by ''[[Princeton University Press]]'' (in 1992), Thaler was offered a position at the [[University of Chicago]]'s [[Booth School of Business]] in 1995, where he has taught ever since.

== Writings ==
=== Books ===
Thaler has written a number of books intended for a lay reader on the subject of [[behavioral economics]], including ''Quasi-rational Economics'' and ''The Winner's Curse'', the latter of which contains many of his ''Anomalies'' columns revised and adapted for a popular audience.  One of his recurring themes is that market-based approaches are incomplete: he is quoted as saying, "conventional economics assumes that people are highly-rational—super-rational—and unemotional.  They can calculate like a computer and have no [[self-control]] problems."<ref>{{cite book |last= Orrell |first= David |author-link=David Orrell|date= 2012|title= Economyths: How the Science of Complex Systems is Transforming Economic Thought |publisher= Icon Books |page=123 | isbn= 978-1848312197|title-link= Economyths }}</ref>

Thaler is coauthor, with [[Cass Sunstein]], of ''[[Nudge (book)|Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness]]'' (Yale University Press, 2008). ''Nudge'' discusses how public and private organizations can help people make better choices in their daily lives. "People often make poor choices—and look back at them with bafflement!" Thaler and Sunstein write. "We do this because, as human beings, we all are susceptible to a wide array of routine [[bias]]es that can lead to an equally wide array of embarrassing blunders in education, personal finance, health care, mortgages and credit cards, happiness, and even the planet itself." Thaler and his co-author coined the term "[[choice architecture]]."<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |title=Designing better choices |date=April 2, 2008 |first1=Richard H. |last1=Thaler |first2=Cass R. |last2=Sunstein |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-apr-02-oe-thalerandsunstein2-story.html |access-date=October 11, 2017}}</ref>

Thaler advocates for libertarian paternalism, which describes public and private social policies that lead people to make good and better decisions through "nudges" without depriving them of the freedom to choose or significantly changing their economic incentives.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Richard-Thaler|title=Richard Thaler-American Economist|access-date=November 12, 2019}}</ref> An example of this is the choice of default options in retirement savings plans. When joining the plan is made the default, roughly 90 percent of those eligible participate, much higher than if they have to actively join. However, Thaler and Sunstein argue that changing the default to agreeing to organ donation is not an effective policy for increasing organ transplants. Although the default "works" in that almost no one opts out, family members are still consulted before organs are removed, and the lack of an active opt out is (correctly) not considered a strong signal of the potential donor's true preferences. Instead they advocate "prompted choice" (ask for permission prominently) plus "first person consent" which stipulates that the wishes of active donors should be honored.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Thaler|first1=Richard|last2=Sunstein|first2=Cass|title=Nudge: Improving Decisions on Health, Wealth, and Happiness|publisher=Yale University Press}}</ref>

Thaler and Sunstein updated ''Nudge'' in 2021, removing some chapters from the original edition—such as those discussing legal frameworks for recognizing same-sex relationships—and adding new content, including a chapter on what they term "sludge."<ref>{{Cite news |title=Nudge Vs Shove: A Conversation With Richard Thaler : The Indicator from Planet Money |url=https://www.npr.org/2021/07/27/1021438772/nudge-vs-shove-a-conversation-with-richard-thaler |access-date=2025-04-10 |work=NPR |language=en}}</ref>

While nudges are intended to make good choices easier through thoughtful choice architecture, sludge refers to "any aspect of choice architecture consisting of friction that makes it harder for people to obtain an outcome that will make them better off (by their own lights)." Thaler and Sunstein cite examples like the difficulty of canceling subscriptions compared to signing up, mail-in rebates, and opaque pricing models. These practices are also commonly known as dark patterns.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Thaler |first1=Richard H. |title=Nudge: improving decisions about money, health, and the environment |last2=Sunstein |first2=Cass R. |date=2021 |publisher=Penguin Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC |isbn=978-0-525-50852-6 |edition=Final |location=New York}}</ref>

In 2015 Thaler wrote ''[[Misbehaving (book)|Misbehaving: The Making of Behavioral Economics]]'', a history of the development of behavioral economics, "part memoir, part attack on a breed of economist who dominated the academy—particularly, the Chicago School that dominated economic theory at the University of Chicago—for much of the latter part of the 20th century."<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=The New York Times |title=In "Misbehaving," an Economics Professor Isn't Afraid to Attack His Own |first=Jonathon A. |last=Knee |date=May 5, 2015 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/06/business/dealbook/book-review-misbehaving-by-richard-thaler.html |access-date=October 11, 2017}}</ref>

=== Other writings ===
Thaler gained some attention in the field of mainstream economics for publishing a regular column in the ''[[Journal of Economic Perspectives]]'' from 1987 to 1990 titled ''Anomalies'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://faculty.chicagogsb.edu/richard.thaler/research/Anomalies.htm |title=Anomalies |accessdate=April 26, 2008 |url-status=unfit |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060829235306/http://faculty.chicagogsb.edu/richard.thaler/research/Anomalies.htm |archivedate=August 29, 2006}}</ref> in which he documented individual instances of economic behavior that seemed to violate traditional [[microeconomics|microeconomic]] theory.<ref>Multiple sources:
* {{cite journal |last=Thaler |first=Richard |journal=Journal of Economic Perspectives |issn=0895-3309 |title=The Winners Curse |volume=2 |issue=1 |pages=191–202 |year=1988 |doi=10.1257/jep.2.1.191
|citeseerx=10.1.1.404.8606 }}
* {{cite journal |last=Thaler |first=Richard |journal=Journal of Economic Perspectives |issn=0895-3309 |title=The Ultimatum Game |volume=2 |issue=4 |pages=195–206 |year=1988 |jstor=1942788 |doi=10.1257/jep.2.4.195 |doi-access=free }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Kahneman |first1=Daniel |first2=Jack |last2=Knetsch |last3=Thaler |first3=Richard |journal=Journal of Economic Perspectives |issn=0895-3309 |title=The Endowment Effect, Loss Aversion, and Status Quo Bias |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=193–206 |year=1991 |doi=10.1257/jep.5.1.193
 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

In a 2008 paper,<ref>{{cite journal |title=Deal or No Deal? Decision Making under Risk in a Large-Payoff Game Show |first1=Thierry |last1=Post |first2=Martijn J. |last2=van den Assem |first3=Guido |last3=Baltussen |first4=Richard H. |last4=Thaler |journal=American Economic Review |issn=0002-8282 |volume=98 |issue=1 |pages=38–71 |date=March 2008 |ssrn=636508 |doi=10.1257/aer.98.1.38 |hdl=1765/7230 |s2cid=12816022 |url=https://papers.tinbergen.nl/06009.pdf }}</ref> Thaler and colleagues analyzed the choices of contestants appearing in the popular TV game show ''[[Deal or No Deal]]'' and found support for behavioralists' claims of path-dependent [[risk attitude]]s. He has also studied cooperation and bargaining in the UK game shows ''[[Golden Balls]]'' and ''[[Divided (game show)|Divided]]''.<ref>Multiple sources:
* {{cite journal |first1=Martijn J. |last1=van den Assem |first2=Dennie |last2=van Dolder |first3=Richard H. |last3=Thaler |ssrn=1592456 |title=Split or Steal? Cooperative Behavior When the Stakes Are Large |journal=[[Management Science (journal)|Management Science]] |issn=0025-1909 |volume=58 |issue=1 |pages=2–20 |date=January 2012 |doi=10.1287/mnsc.1110.1413 |hdl=1765/31292 |s2cid=1371739 |url=https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Delivery.cfm/SSRN_ID2008374_code105718.pdf?abstractid=1592456&mirid=1|hdl-access=free }}
* {{cite journal |first1=Dennie |last1=van Dolder |first2=Martijn J. |last2=van den Assem |first3=Colin |last3=Camerer |first4=Richard H. |last4=Thaler |ssrn=2344422 |title=Standing United or Falling Divided? High Stakes Bargaining in a TV Game Show |journal=American Economic Review |issn=0002-8282 |volume=105 |issue=5 |pages=402–407 |date=May 2015 |doi=10.1257/aer.p20151017 |url=https://ssrn.com/abstract=2344422|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

As a columnist for ''The New York Times'' News Service, Thaler has begun a series of economic solutions for some of America's financial woes, beginning with "Selling parts of the radio spectrum could help pare US deficit," with references to [[Thomas Hazlett]]'s ideas for reform of the [[U.S. Federal Communications Commission]] (FCC) and making television broadcast frequency available for improving wireless technology, reducing costs, and generating revenue for the US government.<ref>{{cite news |first=Richard |last=Thayer |date=February 28, 2010 |url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/bizfocus/archives/2010/02/28/2003466801 |title=Selling parts of the radio spectrum could help pare US deficit |newspaper=[[Taipei Times]]  |access-date=October 11, 2017}}</ref>

He is an advocate for a [[carbon tax]]. On the ''Freakonomics'' podcast, [[Steven Levitt]] laments: "literally every economist I’ve ever known would tell you, 'Of course we should have a tax on carbon. This could not be more obvious.'” Thaler responded: "It is very frustrating because right now in the U.S. the Republicans are opposed to it because it’s a tax and the progressives are against it because they think whatever the tax was, it wouldn’t be high enough and some of the tax would be paid by poor people and they shouldn’t have to pay it. These are silly arguments. Obviously, you can have a carbon tax and distribute the money in a way that is progressive, but we’re united in our opposition to the only chance, really, that the planet has of survival. And I think this is the greatest failing of the economics profession ever. ... Sweden has the highest carbon tax, and lo and behold, emissions have gone way down and the economy is thriving. So, for once economists are right. We don’t know how to control unemployment or recessions or inflation, maybe. But we do know if we raised the price of carbon, people will emit less. Even crazy behavioral economists know that."<ref>{{cite web| title=Why Is Richard Thaler Such a ****ing Optimist?| date=December 31, 2021| last=Levitt| first=Steven D.| author-link=Steven D. Levitt| work=[[Freakonomics Radio]]| url=https://freakonomics.com/podcast/why-is-richard-thaler-such-a-bleep-optimist/}}</ref>

== Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics ==
[[File:Richard H. Thaler EM1B8783 (38891871821).jpg|thumb|Richard H. Thaler during Nobel Prize press conference in Stockholm, December 2017]]
Thaler was the 2017 recipient of the [[Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences|Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics]] for "incorporat[ing] psychologically realistic assumptions into analyses of economic decision-making. By exploring the consequences of ''limited rationality'', ''social preferences'', and ''lack of self-control'', he has shown how these human traits systematically affect individual decisions as well as market outcomes."<ref>{{cite press release |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=October 9, 2017 |title=The Prize in Economic Sciences 2017 |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/economic-sciences/laureates/2017/press.html |publisher=Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences}}</ref>

"Given the lag between when work is done and when the Nobel Prize is awarded in economics, it would be accurate to say that the prize was largely given for work I did in my [[Cornell University|Cornell]] years," Thaler said.

Immediately following the announcement of the 2017 prize, Professor [[Peter Gärdenfors]], Member of the Economic Sciences Prize Committee, said in an interview that Thaler had "made economics more human".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/economic-sciences/laureates/2017/announcement.html|title=The Prize in Economic Sciences 2017 – Prize Announcement|website=www.nobelprize.org|access-date=2018-02-28}}</ref>

In presenting Thaler with his prize, Nobel economics committee chair [2] Per Strömberg, the Chair of the Economic Sciences Prize Committee stated that the portion of Thaler's work on self-control had "finally liberated Adam Smith." [https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/economic-sciences/2017/thaler/prize-presentation/ Richard H. Thaler – Prize presentation] This work was done jointly with economist Hersh Shefrin. [https://www.nobelprize.org/uploads/2018/06/advanced-economicsciences2017-1.pdf] Strömberg stated that the two-system planner-doer approach to self-control helps to reconcile the "deep tension between" the two main streams of Smith's work, the first being about moral sentiments and imperfect rationality (''Theory of Moral Sentiments'', Smith, 1759) and the second being about rational forces and markets (''Wealth of Nations'', Smith, 1776). The two-system model also provided the theoretical foundation for the nudge approach.

After learning that he had won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics, Thaler said that his most important contribution to economics "was the recognition that economic agents are human, and that economic models have to incorporate that."<ref>{{cite news |last=Isaac |first=Anna |title='Nudge' guru Richard Thaler wins the Nobel prize for economics |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |date=October 9, 2017 |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/10/09/nobel-prize-awarded-us-behavioural-economist-richard-thaler/ |access-date=October 11, 2017}}</ref> In a nod to the sometimes-unreasonable behavior he has studied so extensively, he also joked that he intended to spend the prize money "as irrationally as possible."<ref>{{cite news |last=Partington |first=Richard |title=Nobel prize in economics awarded to Richard Thaler: Pioneer of behavioural economics is best known for 'nudge' theory, which has influenced politicians and policymakers |newspaper=The Guardian |location=London |date=October 9, 2017 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/09/nobel-prize-in-economics-richard-thaler}}</ref>

[[Paul Krugman]], the 2008 winner of the [[Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics]], [[tweeted]] "Yes! [[Behavioral economics|Behaviorial econ]] is the best thing to happen to the field in generations, and Thaler showed the way."<ref>{{cite news |last=Long |first=Heather |title=American professor wins Nobel Prize in economics for trying to understand bad human behavior |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=October 9, 2017 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/10/09/american-professor-wins-nobel-prize-in-economics-for-trying-to-understand-irrational-human-behavior/ | access-date = October 12, 2017}}</ref> However, Thaler's selection was not met with universal acclaim; [[Robert Shiller]] (one of the 2013 laureates and a fellow behavioral economist) noted that there are some economists who still view Thaler's incorporation of a psychological perspective within an economics framework as a dubious proposition.<ref>{{cite news |last=Shiller |first=Robert |title=Richard Thaler is a controversial Nobel prize winner – but a deserving one |newspaper=The Guardian |location=London |date=October 11, 2017 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/11/richard-thaler-nobel-prize-winner-behavioural-economics}}</ref> In addition, an article in ''[[The Economist]]'' simultaneously praised Thaler and his fellow behavioral colleagues while bemoaning the practical difficulties that have resulted from causing "economists as a whole to back away a bit from grand theorising, and to focus more on empirical work and specific policy questions."<ref>{{cite news | title = Richard Thaler's work demonstrates why economics is hard: It is difficult to model the behaviour of creatures as irrepressibly social as humans | newspaper = The Economist | date = October 11, 2017 | url = https://www.economist.com/blogs/freeexchange/2017/10/nobel-prize-economic-sciences}}</ref>

In chronicling Thaler's path to Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics laureate, John Cassidy notes that although Thaler's "nudge" theory may not overcome every shortcoming of traditional economics, it has at least grappled with them "in ways that have yielded important insights in areas ranging from finance to international development".<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/john-cassidy/the-making-of-richard-thalers-economics-nobel|title=The Making of Richard Thaler's Economics Nobel|last=Cassidy|first=John|date=2017-10-10|magazine=The New Yorker|access-date=2018-02-28|language=en|issn=0028-792X}}</ref>

==Other honors and awards==
[[File:Thaler's Nobel Prize Cornell Mug - The Endowment Effect.jpg|thumb|A [[Cornell University]] mug used in Thaler's experiments on Endowment Effect, donated to the Nobel Prize Organisation]]
In addition to earning the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, Thaler holds many other honors and awards. He is a member of the National Academy of Science, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a Fellow of the American Finance Association, and more.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://faculty.chicagobooth.edu/Richard.Thaler/assets/files/Thaler-Vita-2018.pdf|title=Richard H. Thaler|access-date=November 12, 2019}}</ref>

== Behavioral finance and other applications in policy ==
Thaler also is the founder of an [[asset management]] firm, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fullerthaler.com/ |publisher=Fuller & Thaler Asset Management |title=Behavioral Investing |access-date=October 11, 2017}}</ref> which believes that investors will capitalize on [[cognitive bias]]es such as the [[endowment effect]], [[loss aversion]] and [[status quo bias]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fullerthaler.com/ |publisher=Fuller & Thaler Asset Management |title=About Us |access-date=October 11, 2017}}</ref> Since 1999, he has been the Principal of the firm,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fullerthaler.com/about|title=Fuller & Thaler Asset Management, Inc. {{!}} The Behavioral Edge ®|website=Fuller & Thaler Asset Management, Inc. {{!}} The Behavioral Edge ®|language=en|access-date=2018-02-28}}</ref> which he co-founded in 1993 with Russell Fuller. Fuller said of his co-founder that Thaler has changed the economics profession in that "[h]e doesn't write papers that are full of math. He writes papers that are full of common sense."<ref name="auto"/>

Thaler co-founded and served with Robert Shiller as the co-director of the [[National Bureau of Economic Research]] Behavioral Economics Project from 1991 to 2015.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.nber.org/people/richard_thaler|title=Richard H. Thaler|website=www.nber.org|access-date=2018-02-28}}</ref>

Thaler was also involved in the establishment of the [[Behavioural Insights Team]], which was originally part of the [[British Government]]'s [[Cabinet Office]] but is now a [[limited company]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/oct/10/behavioural-economics-richard-thaler-nudge-nobel-prize-winner |title='Behavioural economics' may sound dry – but it can change your life |last=Halpern |first=David |author-link=David Halpern (psychologist) |date=10 October 2017 |website=www.theguardian.com |publisher=Guardian News and Media Limited |access-date=11 October 2017 |quote=Thaler was instrumental in the creation of the UK's Behavioural Insights Team (BIT), originally a No 10 unit, back in 2010.}}</ref>

Thaler made a cameo appearance as himself in the 2015 movie ''[[The Big Short (film)|The Big Short]]'', which was about the [[Economic bubble|credit]] and [[real estate bubble]] collapse that led to the [[2008 financial crisis]].<ref name="Wired">{{cite web |url=https://www.wired.com/2015/12/big-short-understanding-economics |title=The Big Short Somehow Makes Subprime Mortgages Entertaining |last=Watercutter |first=Angela |date=December 11, 2015 |website=Wired.com |accessdate=October 10, 2017}}</ref> During one of the film's expository scenes, he helped [[Pop icon|pop star]] [[Selena Gomez]] explain the '[[Hot-hand fallacy|hot hand fallacy]],' in which people believe that whatever is happening now will continue to happen in the future.<ref>{{cite AV media |people=Richard Thaler, Selena Gomez |title=The Big Short movie – explanation of the "hot hand fallacy" |medium=film scene via YouTube |publisher=Paramount Pictures, Plan B Entertainment |date=2015 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WStmFKp1x3g}}{{cbignore}}{{Dead YouTube link|date=February 2022}}</ref> As a consequence of his appearance in the film, Thaler has an [[Erdős–Bacon number]] of 5.<ref>{{Cite tweet |author=Thaler, Richard H. |user=R_Thaler |number=730014484463529984 |title= Learned I have a Bacon-Erdos number<nowiki>=</nowiki>5! Wrote a paper with Peter Wakker an Erdos 2 via Fishburn, and am Bacon 2 via Ryan Gosling in Big Short}}</ref>

== Publications ==
=== Books ===
* Thaler, Richard H. 1992. ''The Winner's Curse: Paradoxes and Anomalies of Economic Life.'' Princeton: Princeton University Press. {{ISBN|0-691-01934-7}}.
* Thaler, Richard H. 1993. ''Advances in Behavioral Finance.'' New York: Russell Sage Foundation. {{ISBN|0-87154-844-5}}.
* Thaler, Richard H. 1994. ''Quasi Rational Economics.'' New York: Russell Sage Foundation. {{ISBN|0-87154-847-X}}.
* Thaler, Richard H. 2005. ''Advances in Behavioral Finance, Volume II (Roundtable Series in Behavioral Economics)''. Princeton: Princeton University Press. {{ISBN|0-691-12175-3}}.
* Thaler, Richard H., and Cass Sunstein. 2009 (updated edition). ''[[Nudge (book)|Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness]].'' New York: Penguin. {{ISBN|0-14-311526-X}}.
* Thaler, Richard H., and Cass Sunstein. 2021 (final edition). ''Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness.'' New York: Penguin. {{ISBN|9780143137009|9780525508526}}.
* Thaler, Richard H. 2015. ''[[Misbehaving: The Making of Behavioral Economics]].'' New York: [[W. W. Norton & Company]]. {{ISBN|978-0-393-08094-0}}.

===Published papers===

Thaler has published over 90 papers in various sources, namely finance, business, and economic journals. Some of his most cited and influential papers are listed below.
* Kahneman, D., Knetsch, J.L. and Thaler, R.H., 1991. Anomalies: The Endowment Effect, Loss Aversion, and Status Quo Bias. ''[[Journal of Economic Perspectives]]'', 5(1), pp.&nbsp;193–206.
* Benartzi, S. and Thaler, R.H., 1995. Myopic Loss Aversion and the Equity Premium Puzzle. ''[[Quarterly Journal of Economics]]'', 110(1), pp.&nbsp;73–92.
* Thaler, R., 1980. Toward a Positive Theory of Consumer Choice. ''[[Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization]]'', 1(1), pp.&nbsp;39–60.
* Kahneman, D., Knetsch, J.L. and Thaler, R.H., 1990. Experimental Tests of the Endowment Effect and the Coase Theorem. ''[[Journal of Political Economy]]'', 98(6), pp.&nbsp;1325–1348.
* De Bondt, W.F. and Thaler, R., 1985. Does the Stock Market Overreact?. ''[[The Journal of Finance]]'', 40(3), pp.&nbsp;793–805.
* Barberis, N. and Thaler, R., 2003. A Survey of Behavioral Finance. ''Handbook of the Economics of Finance'', 1, pp.&nbsp;1053–1128.
* Thaler, R., 1985. Mental Accounting and Consumer Choice. ''[[Marketing Science (journal)|Marketing Science]]'', 4(3), pp.&nbsp;199–214.

== See also ==
* [[List of Jewish Nobel laureates]]

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.nber.org/vitae/vita507.htm Curriculum Vitae]
* [http://www.chicagobooth.edu/faculty/bio.aspx?person_id=12825835520 Faculty home page at U of Chicago] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121014023115/http://www.chicagobooth.edu/faculty/bio.aspx?person_id=12825835520 |date=2012-10-14 }}
* [http://ssrn.com/abstract=636508 Article: Deal or No Deal]
* [http://www.nudges.org/ Nudge web page] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171012032048/http://nudges.org/ |date=2017-10-12 }}
* {{cite web |last=Roberts |first=Russ |title=Richard Thaler on Libertarian Paternalism |url=http://www.econtalk.org/archives/_featuring/richard_thaler/ |work=[[EconTalk]] |publisher=[[Liberty Fund|Library of Economics and Liberty]] |authorlink=Russ Roberts |date=November 6, 2006}}
* [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3001814/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cl_t62 IMDb Profile]
* {{Google Scholar id|Tvzd5GgAAAAJ}}
* {{cite web|title=Richard Thaler|url=https://econpapers.repec.org/RAS/pth67.htm|publisher=[[EconPapers]]}}
* {{cite web|title=Richard Thaler|url=https://www.jstor.org/action/doBasicSearch?Query=au%3A%22Richard+Thaler%22|publisher=[[JSTOR]]}}
* {{Nobelprize}} including the Prize Lecture 8 December 2017 ''From Cashews to Nudges: The Evolution of Behavioral Economics''

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