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At its core, economics is about making decisions. In the history of economic thought, great intellectual prowess has been exerted toward devising exquisite theories of optimal decision making in situations of constraint, risk, and scarcity. Yet not all of our choices are purely logical, and so there is a longstanding tension between those emphasizing the rational and irrational sides of human behavior. One strand develops formal models of rational utility maximizing while the other draws on what behavioral science has shown about our tendency to act irrationally.
In Risk, Choice, and Uncertainty, George G. Szpiro offers a new narrative of the three-century history of the study of decision making, tracing how crucial ideas have evolved and telling the stories of the thinkers who shaped the field. Szpiro examines economics from the early days of theories spun from anecdotal evidence to the rise of a discipline built around elegant mathematics through the past half century’s interest in describing how people actually behave. Considering the work of Locke, Bentham, Jevons, Walras, Friedman, Tversky and Kahneman, Thaler, and a range of other thinkers, he sheds light on the vast scope of discovery since Bernoulli first proposed a solution to the St. Petersburg Paradox. Presenting fundamental mathematical theories in easy-to-understand language, Risk, Choice, and Uncertainty is a revelatory history for readers seeking to grasp the grand sweep of economic thought.
In Risk, Choice, and Uncertainty, George G. Szpiro offers a new narrative of the three-century history of the study of decision making, tracing how crucial ideas have evolved and telling the stories of the thinkers who shaped the field. Szpiro examines economics from the early days of theories spun from anecdotal evidence to the rise of a discipline built around elegant mathematics through the past half century’s interest in describing how people actually behave. Considering the work of Locke, Bentham, Jevons, Walras, Friedman, Tversky and Kahneman, Thaler, and a range of other thinkers, he sheds light on the vast scope of discovery since Bernoulli first proposed a solution to the St. Petersburg Paradox. Presenting fundamental mathematical theories in easy-to-understand language, Risk, Choice, and Uncertainty is a revelatory history for readers seeking to grasp the grand sweep of economic thought.
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About the Author:
George G. Szpiro is an award-winning author and journalist. A longtime correspondent for the Swiss daily Neue Zürcher Zeitung, his many books include Numbers Rule: The Vexing Mathematics of Democracy, from Plato to the Present (2010) and Pricing the Future: Finance, Physics, and the 300-Year Journey to the Black-Scholes Equation (2011).
Review:
In Risk, Choice, and Uncertainty, George Szpiro presents a remarkably readable, nonmathematical account of the theory of choice between risky alternatives. (Harry Markowitz, winner of the 1990 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences)
Risk, Choice, and Uncertainty is a masterpiece of intellectual biography. In his best book to date, Szpiro’s wit and stylish writing make the history of thinking about thinking both intriguing and accessible. (Sylvia Nasar, author of Grand Pursuit: The Story of Economic Genius)
Economic theory treats humans as "utility maximizers". But what is "utility"? 300 years ago, Daniel Bernoulli declared it as relative gain in wealth. Later it became an abstract scale for consistent preferences, but this postulated "rationality" has its own paradoxes and controversies as concerns actual behavior. George Szpiro's sweeping historical tour de force of this topic entertains, informs and delights. (Bernhard von Stengel, Professor of Mathematics, game theorist, London School of Economics and Political Science)
Risk, Choice, and Uncertainty is a well-organized and pleasantly written account of the history of economics seen through the lens of individual decision making, ranging from expected utility to prospect theory. It will be of interest to a lay audience and curious students alike. (Maria Pia Paganelli, Trinity University)
Risk, Choice, and Uncertainty is a masterpiece of intellectual biography. In his best book to date, Szpiro’s wit and stylish writing make the history of thinking about thinking both intriguing and accessible. (Sylvia Nasar, author of Grand Pursuit: The Story of Economic Genius)
Economic theory treats humans as "utility maximizers". But what is "utility"? 300 years ago, Daniel Bernoulli declared it as relative gain in wealth. Later it became an abstract scale for consistent preferences, but this postulated "rationality" has its own paradoxes and controversies as concerns actual behavior. George Szpiro's sweeping historical tour de force of this topic entertains, informs and delights. (Bernhard von Stengel, Professor of Mathematics, game theorist, London School of Economics and Political Science)
Risk, Choice, and Uncertainty is a well-organized and pleasantly written account of the history of economics seen through the lens of individual decision making, ranging from expected utility to prospect theory. It will be of interest to a lay audience and curious students alike. (Maria Pia Paganelli, Trinity University)
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- PublisherColumbia University Press
- Publication date2020
- ISBN 10 0231194749
- ISBN 13 9780231194747
- BindingHardcover
- Number of pages264
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