If you think about the process of de-cumulating wealth, and making the rational decision, it's really, very, very tough. We focus on inequality of the top side but the real terrible thing is it's the ...

In a posting at The Big Picture, Barry Ritholtz says my article about the central role rational irrationality played in causing the financial crisis doesn’t make any sense. Ritholtz writes: “ ...

(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) These reactions raise a deeper question: What does it mean to call a response ...

"What’s wrong with people?" – Steven Pinker (said while riffing on his bubbe). "It’s not your fault." – Dr. Sean Maguire (Robin Williams) to Will Hunting in the eponymous good movie. In chapter ten of ...

Writing a Comment for this week’s magazine about the S.E.C.’s lawsuit against Goldman Sachs got me thinking again about the underlying reasons for the subprime crisis. Was it primarily driven by Wall ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Hersh Shefrin analyzes how psychology impacts markets and policy. This article is more than 3 years old. The inflation which ...

Such reactions may appear irrational under one standard yet reflect a form of rationality adapted to uncertainty, vivid impressions and limited information. What ultimately matters is not labeling ...