Richard Thaler

"The human brain uses shortcuts called heuristics. They're usually helpful but sometimes lead us systematically astray."

"Availability bias makes us overestimate the frequency of memorable events and underestimate the mundane."

"Context matters enormously. The same choice presented differently will get different responses."

"Behavioral science shows that incentives matter, but not in the way traditional economics predicted."

"People care about relative income, not just absolute income. How much others earn influences our satisfaction."

"The way a problem is framed determines how people solve it. Frames are not neutral."

"Money doesn't buy happiness, but taking it away causes pain. The asymmetry is part of loss aversion."

"We underestimate the power of social norms. What others do influences us more than we realize."

"Good policy should make it easy to do the right thing, not hard."

"People are predictably irrational. Once you know the pattern, you can anticipate the mistake."

"Econs are the imaginary rational actors of traditional economics. Humans are more interesting and complicated."

"The way people feel now influences their choices, even when they know their emotions are temporary."

"Sunk costs shouldn't influence future decisions, but they do. This is a systematic bias we all fall prey to."

"Overconfidence is universal. Most people think they're above average, which is mathematically impossible."

"Coupling specific behavior with existing routines makes new habits stick. Automaticity is your friend."

"Feedback matters. When people see the results of their choices, they often improve their decision making."

"The peer effect is powerful in schools and workplaces. Who you're around influences your performance."

"We have present bias. We care more about immediate rewards than future consequences."

"Making something a default is the most powerful choice architecture tool available."

"Behavioral insights have helped boost retirement savings, increase voting, and improve public health."

"People are not stupid. They're using reasonable shortcuts that work in many situations but fail in others."

"The invisible hand of markets relies on people being rational. When they're not, unexpected things happen."

"Behavioral economics is about being realistic about how humans actually behave."

"We care about the health of our retirement accounts like we care about the health of our children, with one key difference: we can't see the account daily."

"Doing nothing is a choice, and it's often the choice people make by default."

"Humans are both systematic and impulsive. We plan and then we deviate from our plans."

"The illusion of control makes us think we have more influence over outcomes than we actually do."

"Temporal discounting means future costs seem smaller than present costs, even when they're identical."

"Behavioral change is possible when you understand what's actually stopping people."

"The way you ask a question influences the answer you get. Framing is everything."