Nobel Prize-winning economist and former Cornell Professor Richard Thaler will visit campus Oct. 17 for a conversation about his groundbreaking work in the field of behavioral economics.

"A Conversation with Richard Thaler," will feature Thaler in dialogue with Thomas Gilovich, the Irene Blecker Rosenfeld Professor of Psychology in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S). The talk, at 4 p.m. in Statler Auditorium, Statler Hall, is hosted by A&S and the SC Johnson College of Business. The event is free and open to the public. Register here.

A faculty member for nearly 20 years at Cornell's Graduate School of Business and Public Administration (now the SC Johnson College), Thaler won the Nobel Prize in 2017 for work done in the 1980s at Cornell. He is now the Charles R. Walgreen Distinguished Service Professor of Behavioral Science and Economics at the University of Chicago.

"Economics is generally considered to be the study of how people, companies and other organizations decide how to make best use of limited resources," Gilovich said. "Economists have some great tools for doing so, but Thaler got the field to appreciate that human beings, as impressive as we are in many ways, are subject to certain limitations that psychologists know a lot about. Those limitations, such as myopia, sloth and a fear of loss that exceeds the love of gains, have to be taken into account if we're going to truly understand economic decisions."

During his time at Cornell, Thaler noticed these patterns of human nature and found that popular economic models were often off when it came to predicting actual human behavior. When making decisions, Thaler found people can veer away from what they "should" do and do just the opposite, even when doing so is costly. Thaler helped create the field of behavioral economics by uniting psychological research on human decision-making with the theories being taught in business schools.

"Richard Thaler had significant impact in bringing behavioral science and psychology into various fields of research within the business school, including economics, finance, accounting and operations," said Suzanne B. Shu, dean of faculty and research at the SC Johnson College. "He also partnered closely with colleagues in the economics and psychology departments. The seeds he planted continue to thrive today with more than 90 faculty in five colleges across campus who work together in behavioral science."

At Cornell, Thaler founded the Behavioral Economics and Decision Research Center in 1989, which continues to bring researchers together. He also helped start the Behavioral Decision Research in Management Conference, which has grown from 50 people in its early days to a biennial conference of around 500 participants. And he created a two-week summer program for graduate students and assistant professors from across the country, allowing them to explore the field.

"We are excited to welcome him back to campus to see the active and impactful community that he created," Shu said.

Kathy Hovis is a writer for the College of Arts and Sciences.