'Nudge' theorist wins Nobel prize

Stockholm

AMERICAN economist Richard Thaler won the 2017 Nobel Economics Prize for his contributions in the field of behavioural economics, showing how human traits affect supposedly rational markets, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said on Monday.

Prof Thaler brought to prominence the idea of "nudge" economics, where humans are subtly guided toward beneficial behaviours without heavy-handed compulsion, the theme of a 2008 book he co-wrote which caught the eye of policymakers around the world.