“You inched towards the dark side,” joked one behavioural economist after he read a recent column in which I hinted that his field has some merits. It was a quip that got me thinking, because behavioural economics does indeed have a dark side. Behavioural economists study the psychology of economic decision-making, and if they are any good at their task they will discover something the unscrupulous salesman could use to his advantage.
我曾在近期的一篇專欄中暗示,行為經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)有一定的價(jià)值。讀罷此文,一位行為經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家開(kāi)玩笑說(shuō):“你在慢慢滑向黑暗面”。這句一語(yǔ)雙關(guān)的話讓我深思,因?yàn)樾袨榻?jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)的確有其黑暗面。行為經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家們研究經(jīng)濟(jì)決策的心理;他們只要擅長(zhǎng)自己工作,就會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)某些毫無(wú)廉恥的推銷員會(huì)籍以牟利的伎倆。