Understanding Richard Thaler's Nobel-winning work

People act irrationally, a fact economists long ignored. Richard Thaler, winner of the 2017 Nobel prize in economics, has made a career of fixing that oversight.

In research that’s typically quirky, often funny, infused with pop-culture and written for a lay audience, Thaler of the University of Chicago has made the case that human decisions are shaped by social context, expectation and temptation — not cold rationality.

Here are some of his greatest hits, a body of work that on Monday lifted Thaler to the pinnacle of economics.

Nudge (2008)

Thaler co-wrote the 2008 global bestseller Nudge with former