Thaler, Richard

"Econs don't exist. Only humans do, and humans are beautifully, predictably flawed."

"Happiness is not about getting more. It's about wanting less."

"Time poverty is as much a constraint on behavior as money poverty."

"We are more generous with our money when we've just thought about our mortality."

"Small social cues can have outsized effects on behavior."

"The future is always less vivid than the present, which is why we undersave."

"Peer effects are real and powerful in shaping our choices and behaviors."

"We care about the narrative of our lives, not just the moments."

"Effort feels bad in real time but adds meaning to our achievements."

"Adaptation means we quickly return to our baseline happiness after most events."

"The hot-cold empathy gap explains why we can't predict our future preferences."

"Money beyond a certain point stops buying happiness because of adaptation."

"We need friction in our lives to make good choices, but not too much."

"The way we measure things changes what we care about."

"Good design respects the limits of human attention and memory."

"Loss aversion is stronger than gain motivation in driving behavior."

"We are not calculating machines; we are moral beings trying to do the right thing."

"Behavioral insights work best when they go with the grain of human nature."

"The illusion of control makes us feel more confident than we should be."

"Small incentives can sometimes backfire by changing our perception of the task."

"Present bias is the enemy of long-term well-being."

"We need to design for the human we are, not the human we wish to be."

"Commitment devices work because we recognize our future selves won't have our willpower."

"Social norms are more powerful than economic incentives in changing behavior."

"The experience of choice matters as much as the choice itself."

"What we measure is what we get. Be careful what you incentivize."

"Humans are naturally inclined to fairness and reciprocity."

"The best nudges are transparent and easy to undo."

"We discount the future too much because the present feels so real."

"Behavioral change is most sustainable when it feels effortless."