The Winner's Curse: Behavioral Economics Anomalies, Then and Now

by Richard H. Thaler, Alex Imas

352 pages, Paperback

Expected publication July 14, 2026

About the author

Richard H. Thaler is an American economist who was awarded the 2017 Nobel Prize in Economics.

He is the Charles R. Walgreen Distinguished Service Professor of Behavioral Science and Economics at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business, where he is the director of the Center for Decision Research. He is also the co-director (with Robert Shiller) of the Behavioral Economics Project at the National Bureau of Economic Research and in 2015 was the president of the American Economic Association. He has been published in several prominent journals and is the author of a number of books, including Misbehaving: The Making of Behavioral Economics.

Reviews

[Richard Moneymaker · Rating 5 out of 5]

From one of the granddaddies of behavioral economics (Thaler) comes this wonderful reexamination of some of his favorite anomalies he discussed back in the day. It's a very interesting read, approachable even for those of us who do not have the scholarly background to hold an economics candle to the experts. It's actually fun to read and the authors keep it light with some timely humor.

[Jer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I appreciate the rehash and commitment to determining the staying power of these theories, as well as their broader (if limited) assimilation into the economics literature. Not sure that makes it as worthwhile a read as other, newer BE books, though. More of a niche read for BE nerds. 🤓

[Gage Dabin · Rating 2 out of 5]

The concepts of the book as a lay person were super hard to understand but it seemed to only make sense when I read the summaries.