Person
Richard Thaler
Behavioral economist (name given as \"Richard Fowler\" in source)
Behavioral economist whose 1980s study asking executives their top price for a beer, depending on whether it was fetched from a corner shop or a hotel resort, is a foundational demonstration of reference-price effects and mental accounting.
Referenced in Episode 134 as co-author, with Cass Sunstein, of Nudge — the book this podcast is named after — and for their Google cafeteria interventions, reported as cutting calorie intake from candy 9%, reducing portion sizes 32% and raising water intake over soda 47% (see Google HQ Canteen Layout Replication). The episode is a critique of the "make it easy" maxim they popularised rather than an endorsement of it.
Discussed in
- Episode 42 — 42- Common pricing mistakes most businesses make
- Episode 134 — 134-there-s-a-problem-with-the-world-s-most-famous-nudge