The price of happiness : behavioral economics and willingness to pay / Cass R. Sunstein

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Sunstein, Cass R., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Economics--Psychological aspects.

Economics.

Happiness--Economic aspects.

Happiness.

Willingness to pay.

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2026

Summary:

"People often 'miswant.' They buy goods that do not make them happy and refuse to buy goods that would make their lives better. In The Price of Happiness, Cass R. Sunstein focuses on people's 'willingness to pay,' which is the foundation for free markets. He argues that willingness to pay deserves respect, and high honors in the annals of history, when buyers know what they are getting. It's when buyers lack information, or suffer from behavioral biases, that they might miswant. Special conundrums also arise when we try to monetize goods we don't normally consider in monetary terms, like pristine areas, human dignity, and social media. Exploring behavioral biases and their effect on human welfare, Sunstein shows how behavioral economics can be used to increase human happiness"-- Cambridge Core

Contents:

What's it worth?

Problems with valuation

Children, animals, and third parties

Hard cases

Want to know? On ruining popcorn

Willingness to pay versus willingness to accept

Nonquantifiable and nonmonetizable

Knightian uncertainty

Irreversibility

Valuing social media

Epilogue : WTP without apology (mostly)

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index

Online resource; title from PDF title page (Cambridge Core, viewed July 29, 2026)

Other Format:

Print version: Sunstein, Cass R. Price of happiness

ISBN:

9781009843638

100984363X

9781009843621

1009843621

OCLC:

1574719878

Publisher Number:

CIPO000406834

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license