Stockholm — US economist Richard Thaler won the 2017 Nobel Economics Prize for his contributions in the field of behavioural economics, showing how human traits affect supposedly rational markets, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said on Monday. Thaler brought to prominence the idea of "nudge" economics, where humans are subtly guided towards beneficial behaviours without heavy-handed compulsion, the theme of a 2008 book he co-wrote that caught the eye of policy makers around the world. The Academy said his research had harnessed psychologically realistic assumptions in analyses of economic decision-making, exploring the consequences of limited rationality, social preferences and lack of self-control. "In total, Richard Thaler’s contributions have built a bridge between the economic and psychological analyses of individual decision-making," the award-giving body said on announcing the 9-million Swedish krona ($1.1m) prize. "His empirical findings and theoretical insights have b...
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