US academic Richard Thaler has won the Nobel Prize for Economics for his contributions in the field of behavioural economics, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has announced.
Mr Thaler, a professor of behavioural sciences and economics at the University of Chicago, is honoured for his research exploring the consequences of “limited rationality, social preferences, and lack of self-control” – demonstrating how these human traits can affect individual decisions as well as market outcomes.
“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 winner of the SKr9 million (£825,000) prize.
“His empirical findings and theoretical insights have been instrumental in creating the new and rapidly expanding field of behavioural economics, which has had a profound impact on many areas of economic research and policy,” the board added.
Professor Thaler becomes the 79th winner of the prestigious economics prize, which is awarded by Sweden’s central bank and was established separately from the Nobel Foundation’s official awards for physics, chemistry, medicine, literature and peace.