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Becoming paradigmatic: the strategic uses of narratives in behavioral economics

Alexandre Truc

Published 2021 in European Journal of the History of Economic Thought

ABSTRACT

Abstract In the 1980s, Richard Thaler used Thomas Kuhn’s framework as a narrative tool to present behavioural economics (BE) as an alternative paradigm. Despite resistance from other economists to this narrative, Thaler persisted with this revolutionary style up to the 2010s and promoted an “us versus them” identity for BE. In the present article, we investigate the role of Thaler’s narrative and show that it has played an important part in BE’s successes and identity. Thaler’s narrative has stimulated imitation by creating a story out of scattered anomalies and laying out a simple scientific model to follow. The narrative has fostered a revolutionary identity for BE, promoted the more innovative aspects of BE and encouraged some behavioural economists to adopt a more confrontational approach. Although Thaler’s narrative lacked resolution – Thaler himself acknowledged the uncertainties related to BE’s revolutionary characteristics – it has shaped the history of behavioural economics.

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