The latest episode of my Economics Explored podcast considers the emerging field of behavioural finance, which is basically the application of behavioural economics to finance. It considers lessons from this field for households, investors, and governments. The episode features an interview I conducted earlier this week with Dr Tracey West of the Griffith Business School.
Tracey teaches behavioural finance to undergraduates and postgraduates at Griffith’s Gold Coast (Queensland, Australia) campus. She’s also an active commentator on economic policy issues. For instance, last year, Tracey wrote an excellent Conversation article on 3 lessons from behavioural economics Bill Shorten’s Labor Party forgot about, three lessons which Tracey and I consider in our conversation. Those lessons are:
1. People are loss averse
2. Limited decision-making
3. Now is worth more than later (and much more so than economists would typically assume using typical discount rates).
Tracey and I had a great discussion about behavioural finance theory and practice, including the need for regulation of financial markets and investments. The Storm Financial collapse, which wrecked the finances of many North Queenslanders, was given as an example illustrating the need for regulation of financial investments. I hope you enjoy our conversation. A transcript is available via my business website.
Links relevant to the conversation include: