The Choices Worth Having

How people make decisions, and how they should make decisions.

Barry Schwartz is the Dorwin Cartwright Professor of Social Theory and Social Action at Swarthmore College. See full bio

February 1, 2009

On the Economic Stimulus Package: The "Packaging" Counts

If the stimulus package now being considered in Congress includes tax relief, and if we want people to spend the money they get, we should make sure that the money comes in "spendable" packages. Not as a lump sum, but as dribs and drabs. One simple way to achieve this result is by providing the tax relief in the form of a payroll tax (social security tax) "holiday." Read More

January 28, 2009

Pay Less, Get More

There is no reason whatsoever to believe that more money will get us more of what we want in judges (or teachers or doctors). And there is good reason to think it will get us less. Read More

January 21, 2009

Why Bonuses Are Bad

We shouldn't be paying people bonuses when they do the right thing. We want a society in which people do the right thing because it's the right thing. Yesterday, President Obama called on us to be hopeful and virtuous. "Virtue" is an old-fashioned word, but Obama evoked it because it is part of our national heritage and because it is "true." Read More

January 14, 2009

In Defense of Friction

We'd all like a car that gets 100 miles to a gallon. The forces of friction and air resistance that slow us down are an expensive annoyance. But when we're driving a car, we know where we're going and we're in control. Fast is good.

Financial life is not as predictable as driving. We don't always know where we're going. We're not always in control. Black ice is everywhere. A little something to slow us down in the uncertain financial world we inhabit may be a life saver. Read More

January 9, 2009

Pay More Attention to "What" and "How"

Better regulation and smarter incentives—sticks and carrots— will perhaps protect us from really bad bankers (and drug makers, steel makers, and newspaper publishers), but it will never get us good ones—the kind we want and need. Read More

January 7, 2009

A New Council of Psychological Advisors for President Obama?

When economists have the president's ear, all their whispers concern incentives and self-interest. We need psychologists whispering in his other ear, about the economy, education, healthcare, and more. Read More

Behavioral Economics Basics

Why do we often think we know what we want, only to be disappointed with our purchases and choices? Behavioral economics studies just how irrational we humans can be.

Go to the Behavioral Economics Basics page for more on Behavioral Economics including:

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