Economists! Stop and think twice: Richard Thaler

S Vishnu Sharmaa, INN/Chennai, @Svs037 

Economists need to stop and think twice, said Nobel Laureate Professor Richard H.Thaler. The audience listened to him spell-bound as he was delivering the second edition of Professor Amitava Bose Memorial Lecture at Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta (IIM-C) premises.

As he was speaking on ‘Doing Economics in the 21st Century’ the audience who comprised students of IIM-C and other colleges located across West Bengal showered applauses.

Professor Richard spoke about how nudges were required to help people get the best possible results. He is considered to be the father of Nudge theory.

His lecture was an antithesis of Bob Dylan’s famous song titled ‘Don’t think twice.’ Professor Thaler stressed about human values in his theory. Incorporating behavioural elements can improve the approach towards any policy problem, he said.

Professor Prashant Mishra, Dean, New Initiatives and External Relations spoke about Professor Amitava Bose. Professor Bose was an able man with tremendous knowledge and possessed a huge sense of sartorial elegance, said Prashant Mishra.

Professor Richard H. Thaler is the Charles R. Walgreen Distinguished Service Professor of Behavioral Science and Economics at University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

He was the 2017 recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his contributions to behavioral economics. Professor Thaler studies behavioral economics and finance as well as the psychology of decision making, which encompasses both economics and psychology.

He investigates the implications of relaxing the standard economic assumption that everyone in the economy is rational and selfish, instead entertaining the possibility that some of the agents in the economy are sometimes human. Professor Anju Seth, director, IIM-C was also present.

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