Robert J. Shiller
8 books
behavioral-economics
What they argue
Robert J. Shiller is a thinker who explores the social and psychological dimensions of economic markets. He argues that markets are social systems driven by human emotions, collective beliefs, and social learning rather than purely rational calculations.
Socially Interactive Systems
Markets are not just aggregates of individual decisions but are social systems where the behavior of individuals is driven by the collective 'animal spirits' of the crowd. In these systems, beliefs become reality through feedback loops.
From Animal Spirits (book)
- Says much the same Jack D. Schwager — Market PsychologyThe market is a collective manifestation of human emotions where price movements are the 'footprints' left by participants reacting to news, fear, and greed. Technical…Getting started in technical analysis
Social Learning and Herding
Investors often use social learning, a process where they observe the actions of others and adopt them as a guide for their own behavior. This serves as a shortcut for processing information in complex environments and can lead to self-reinforcing feedback loops.
From Irrational Exuberance (book)
- Says much the same George A. Akerlof — Socially Interactive SystemsMarkets are not merely aggregates of individual decisions but are systems where the behavior of individuals is influenced by the collective. In these systems, a stock…Animal Spirits
Viral Narratives
Economic fluctuations are driven by narratives that spread like biological viruses through a population. These stories, such as a booming tech industry or a looming recession, influence human behavior and create self-fulfilling prophecies.
From Narrative Economics (book)
Sociality of Finance
Finance is a social institution, much like religion or law, rather than a laboratory science. The value of an asset is a socially constructed reality determined by what others believe it will be worth.
From Finance and the good society (book)
Social Contagion of Belief
Beliefs in markets behave like social contagions that spread through imitation and peer pressure rather than logical deduction. This means that market movements can be driven by social mania rather than underlying fundamentals.
From The subprime solution (book)
Information Asymmetry and Phools
Financial markets are often driven by 'phools' who succumb to overconfidence and herd behavior, creating systemic bubbles. This occurs because markets are not always efficient due to the human element and information asymmetry.
From Phishing for Phools (book)
- Says much the same Joel Greenblatt — Market Inefficiency and Emotional BiasThe stock market is frequently inefficient because investors are often driven by emotion, herd behavior, and a focus on short-term price fluctuations. Because people…The Little Book That Still Beats the Market
Every idea names the summary it came from. Written by a local model from this mind’s own work, never from memory.
Books 6
- The subprime solution — The 2008 financial crisis was not a failure of math or information, but a failure of human psychology—specifically,…
- Finance and the good society — Financial markets are not just numbers; they are social institutions shaped by human psychology, and we must design…
- Narrative Economics — Economic events are driven not just by data and fundamentals, but by the viral spread of stories that behave like…
- Phishing for Phools — Markets are not just driven by data, but by the human psychological flaws of overconfidence and herd behavior, which…
- Irrational Exuberance — Market bubbles are not caused by a lack of information, but by the social human tendency to treat the actions of…
- Animal Spirits — Markets are not just driven by cold, rational calculations of utility, but by 'animal spirits'—the social, emotional,…