This year's Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences was awarded to University of Chicago economist Richard Thaler for his pioneering research in behavioral economics.

Thaler, who was the President of the American Economic Association in 2015 and is currently an ex officio member of the AEA executive committee, was named Monday morning as the 2017 recipient of the award from The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

Thaler incorporated insights from psychology into theories of economic decision-making, which created a framework for understanding why people make irrational choices.

Thaler has made valuable strides in behavioral economics over the past few decades, bringing the field into mainstream economic thought. “In total, Richard Thaler’s contributions have built a bridge between the economic and psychological analyses of individual decision-making,” said the Academy in a statement announcing the award. “His empirical findings and theoretical insights have been instrumental in creating the new and rapidly expanding field of behavioural economics, which has had a profound impact on many areas of economic research and policy.”

His major contributions include experimental research on fairness, influence on policy designs that align short-term doing with long-term planning, and founding work on behavioral finance. The implications of Thaler’s work range from how to “nudge” people to save for retirement to explaining why New Year’s resolutions are difficult to keep.

The announcement can be read here: https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/economic-sciences/laureates/2017/press.pdf