The Behavioral Economist at the Movies
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Dec. 17 (Bloomberg) -- The Oscars won’t be awarded untilMarch, but those who hand out the annual Behavioral EconomicsOscars (known as the Becons) are famously impatient, and it istime to announce this year’s winners.
-- Best Actress: In recent years, behavioral economistshave become interested in emotions and affect. It is now widelyknown that human beings use an “affect heuristic” in thinkingabout activities and risks. Instead of carefully assessing thestatistics about (say) nuclear power or genetic modification offood, we tend to ask: How do we feel about it? The answer tothat question operates as a mental shortcut, or a heuristic,that informs and sometimes settles our judgments.