Richard Thaler

"Small costs can have large effects. Even tiny friction can stop people from doing something valuable."

"We use mental shortcuts that are usually right but sometimes spectacularly wrong."

"People want to be treated fairly, and they're willing to punish unfairness even at a cost to themselves."

"The way institutions are structured reflects assumptions about human nature. Bad structures assume we're all rational."

"Behavioral design can nudge people toward healthier, wealthier, and happier lives."

"Expectations shape reality. If people expect prices to go up, they often buy sooner, causing prices to go up."

"Naming a program changes how people perceive it. The same program with a different name gets different uptake."

"We adapt to good things quickly and don't appreciate them as much as we should."

"The contrast effect means that how good something is depends on what you compare it to."

"Behavioral economics shows that money isn't everything, but markets often treat it as if it is."

"People make better long-term decisions when they're not in an emotional state."

"The same choice can be presented as a gain or a loss, and people choose differently based on the frame."

"Reputation matters to people in ways that pure self-interest can't explain."

"We overestimate how much we'll enjoy something and underestimate how much we'll adapt to it."

"Behavioral insights work best when they align with what people actually want to do."

"The easy way is often not the right way, but it's the way people choose."

"People are influenced by arbitrary numbers they encounter, even when they know better."

"Changing the environment changes behavior more reliably than changing minds."

"We judge risks based on emotion and familiarity, not probability and statistics."

"The best nudge is invisible. You succeed when people don't realize they've been nudged."

"Loss aversion explains why people hold losing stocks and sell winning stocks too early."

"Behavioral economics shows that incentives work, but often in unexpected ways."

"We have an optimism bias that makes us think good things are more likely to happen to us than average."

"The human mind is a prediction machine that's often wrong because it uses incomplete information."

"Behavioral insights can help people achieve their own goals, not someone else's goals."

"We care deeply about fairness, even in situations where fairness has no material consequence."

"The way you present information determines what people understand and remember."

"Small changes in default settings can have enormous effects on outcomes."

"Behavioral economics is descriptive, not prescriptive. It describes how people actually decide."

"We underestimate our own biases while assuming others are biased. This is the bias blind spot."