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This week, our Masters in Business radio podcast, we speak with Professor Richard Thaler of University of Chicago Booth School, and known as the Father of Behavioral Investing. He is perennially on the short list of potential Nobel prize recipients.
Thaler began his career in academia as an economist who asked the sort of questions that caused his advisors fits. He was fond of identifying where actual human behavior differed radically from homo economicus, the behavior of how economists theorized people behaved. Thus, a new field of economics was born.
Our conversation ranged far and wide, and Thaler’s wit and sense of delight was evident throughout.
You can find the full transcript here.
Listen to the full podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud and on Bloomberg.com. Earlier podcasts can be found on iTunes and at Bloombergview.com.
Next week, we speak with tech entrepreneur, venture capitalist and philanthropist Nick Hauer.
One thing I enjoy about these podcasts are that they humanize these heavy hitters. They seem pretty normal – not necessarily what one would expect from a Nobel candidate/prize winner.
Relatedly: Arnott’s interview with Markowitz is great. At the RAFI site somewhere for those interested.
I’m always amused at Professor Thaler’s anecdote about the “Look Right” signs in London. There are plenty of “Look Left” signs as well, given that London is full of one-way streets and a pedestrian can’t always be sure of which direction traffic will be moving. It’s a Nudge, to be sure, but for everyone, not just those of us who drive on the right.