Basic Instincts - Softcover

Human instincts are surprisingly sophisticated and subtle, having adapted over generations of trading with each other. Understanding how these instincts work can not only change the way you think about your own affairs, it can alter how you think about a whole range of economic and business issues (from what constitutes a fair salary to the impact of globalisation).A new breed of economists - known as behavioural economists - has started to observe economic life more closely. This book reveals the fascinating results of their studies . Human instincts have long been ignored by traditional economics, but they are crucial factors in major economic decisions, and hence important for our futures. This engaging book is about those human instincts and how the study of them has begun to change fundamentally the science of economics and our own behaviour in today's world

An economist and former BBC journalist, Pete Lunn now works for the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) in Dublin. Pete has an unusual background for an economist, having originally trained a neuroscientist. He received a PhD in human perception from the University of London at just 24 years of age. He then spent over a decade in journalism, mostly with BBC Newsnight in London, but also in Ireland, where he was founding editor of the country s first specialist talk radio station, NewsTalk. A former English Speaking Union scholar, Pete specialises in bringing original or complex ideas to wider audiences. His work in television and radio has won several national awards. After re-qualifying as an economist, he now devotes his energies to policy research and to spreading new economic thinking.