Economics
Behavioral Economics’ Latest Bias: Seeing Bias Wherever It Looks
- Proponents find cognitive biases even when they don’t exist
- Gigerenzer, ‘The Black Swan’ author Taleb, are vocal critics
This article is for subscribers only.
Behavioral economics, it seems, might just have a bias problem of its own.
Once dismissed as little more than psychobabble, the discipline, which marries classical economics with psychology, has won widespread acclaim over the past decade. It’s left an indelible mark on business, finance and policy making by explaining all the mind-bending ways people, try as they might, don’t act rationally. Along with the Nobel Prizes, it’s become a bona fide cultural phenomenon. Best sellers like Daniel Kahneman’s “Thinking, Fast and Slow,” countless TED talks and even a cameo turn by one of its founders in the blockbuster movie “The Big Short.”