Mubasher: The University of Chicago’s Richard H. Thaler has been awarded the Nobel Prize in economics on Monday for his research on how psychology impacts decision making in the field of economics.
The award was given to Thaler for his research in “understanding the psychology of economics”, according to the Nobel Prize committee.
The Nobel Prize, which is officially known as the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in memory of Alfred Nobel, was awarded to 72-year-old Thaler by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm on Monday.
An American economic and a professor of behavioural science and economics at the University of Chicago, Thaler is the 79th recipient of the Nobel Prize, which amounts to SEK 9 million ($1.1 million), and the 29th winner of the economics prize.
His theory explains "how people simplify financial decision-making by creating separate accounts in their minds, focusing on the narrow impact of each individual decision rather than its overall effect," according to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
“Thaler's work is well known outside academic circles. His 2008 book "Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth and Happiness," which he wrote with law professor Cass Sunstein, became a popular hit,” according to CNN.
