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Title: Animal Spirits: How Human Psychology Drives the Economy, and Why it Matters for Global Capitalism

Multimedia ·
OSTI ID:1007961

In his lecture, Shiller will discuss the premise of his 2009 book, coauthored with the Nobel Prize-winning economist George A. Akerlof. Winner of the getAbstract International Book Award and the 2009 TIAA-CREF Paul A. Samuelson Award for Outstanding Scholarly Writing on Lifelong Financial Security, the book, which has the same title as Shiller's lecture, discusses how "animal spirits," or human emotions such as confidence, fear, and a concern for fairness, drive financial events, including today's global financial crisis. John Maynard Keynes coined the phrase "animal spirits" to describe the changing psychology that led to the Great Depression and the recovery from it. Like Keynes, Shiller and Akerlof believe that government intervention is necessary to overcome the adverse effects on the economy brought about by unruly and irrational human emotions. In his talk, Shiller will explain how "animal spirits" lead to adverse economic effects, and he will outline his insights on how the global economy can recover from its recent setbacks.

Research Organization:
Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC); Brookhaven Science Associates (BSA)
DOE Contract Number:
AC02-98CH10886
OSTI ID:
1007961
Report Number(s):
BNL-83266-2010-CP; TRN: US201117%%527
Resource Relation:
Conference: Brookhaven Science Associates' Distinguished Lecture Series, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York (United States), presented on March 02, 2010
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English