In the realm of economic theories, where choices appear as outcomes of stable preferences, Cognitive Economics introduces a novel perspective. This field, blending insights from economics, neuroscience, and cognitive psychology, seeks to unravel the mysteries of human decision-making, challenging conventional wisdom. Classical Economics assumes that choices derive from stable preferences, whereas Behavioral Economics ventures into […]
If the history of economic thought is a succession of new mainstreams, the current predominant school of thought is undoubtedly Behavioral Economics. Models introducing cognitive limitations of agents are now increasingly spreading and, even in those economic domains where there is more reluctance towards this approach, behavioral considerations are still part of the debate. If the […]
Let’s play a game. Imagine you wake up (or better, your conscience does) and you are trapped in an empty room inside your brain. You can see, move, and touch with your own body, but you cannot speak. In fact, your mouth opens, words flow out; you can laugh and interact with your family and friends, but you cannot decide what to say. […]
In 1951 Eric Dodds, an Irish philologist and anthropologist, published “The Greeks and the Irrational”, a famous book in which he presented two antithetical concepts applied to the study of the Ancient Greece: the “shame culture” and the “guilt culture”. Dodds focused his inquiry on the earliest stages of the Greek culture, analyzing the Homeric world, […]
While most countries have begun the process of vaccinating against coronavirus, the data about who is getting vaccinated- or more importantly, who isn’t – are troubling. First, those least vulnerable to COVID-19 are being vaccinated before the highly at-risk individuals who don’t make or don’t attend their vaccination appointments. Second, vaccination rates are substantially lower amongst ethnic […]
Evidence from the fields of behavioral economics and neuroeconomics shows that many cognitive biases influence people’s minds when they have to make choices. These unconscious but universally spread processes shape our brains and make us “Predictably Irrational” (as behavioral scientist Dan Ariely wrote). For this reason, “nudging” can act on our decision-making system and be positively […]
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