Från ”Homo Economicus” till ”Homo Sapiens”

Richard H. Thaler (; born September 12, 1945) is an American economist and the Ralph and Dorothy Keller Distinguished Service Professor of Behavioral Science and Economics at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He is perhaps best known as a theorist in behavioral finance, and for his collaboration with Daniel Kahneman and others in further defining that field. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2017 He won the Nobel Prize 2017.

In economics, homo economicus, or economic man, is the concept in many economic theories portraying humans as consistently rational and narrowly self-interested agents who usually pursue their subjectively-defined ends optimally. Generally, homo economicus attempts to maximize utility as a consumer and profit as a producer. This theory stands in contrast to the concepts of (e.g.) behavioral economics (which examines actual economic behavior, including widespread cognitive biases and other irrationalities), and homo reciprocans (which emphasizes human cooperation). In game theory, homo economicus is often modelled through the (less restrictive) assumption of perfect rationality.