Yet actual economic life, as opposed to the theoretical version, is full of miscalculations, from the gallon jar of mayonnaise purchased at spectacular savings to the billions of dollars Americans will spend this year to service their credit-card debt. Rational calculators are supposed to consider their options, then pick the one that maximizes the benefit to them. Why do people do things like this? From the perspective of neoclassical economics, self-punishing decisions are difficult to explain. By the time I was done, I had saved The New Yorker $3.99 in shipping charges. I clicked it into the shopping cart and checked out. After much discussion, they picked a three-in-one volume containing two adventures they had previously read. Since they already own a large stack of Tintins, it was hard to find one that they didn’t have. I couldn’t think of any, so I got up from my desk, went into the living room, and asked my nine-year-old twins. I thought about whether there were other books that I might need, or want. “Add $7.00 to your order to qualify for FREE Super Saver Shipping!” I was ordering the book for work still, I hesitated. I clicked to add it to my “shopping cart” and a message popped up on the screen. The book had a list price of twenty-four dollars Amazon was offering it for eighteen. SEYMOUR CHWASTĪ couple of months ago, I went on-line to order a book. People make bad decisions, but they make them in systematic ways.
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