Introduction to the Association of Behavioral Economics and Finance
The Association of Behavioral Economics and Finance was established to encourage research into behavioral economics and behavioral finance in Japan and provide a forum of interaction for interested scholars, businesspersons and students.
Today, it is clear that behavioral economics and behavioral finance must be further developed, in order to break through the limitations of the conventional branches of economics. To be sure, those branches have succeeded in explaining, in an integrated manner, a variety of economic phenomena as results of rational human behavior, and achievements in those fields have been put to effective use in formulating economic policies. In recent years, however, their limitations are constantly evidenced by increasing numbers of demonstrations of phenomena that are incompatible with hypotheses based on rationality, in the narrow sense of the word: the peculiarity of people’s monetary decisions, the fluctuation of choices according to habit formation, loss-aversion actions under uncertain circumstances etc. Furthermore, theories premised on the rationality of human behavior can no longer accurately describe the pathologies of contemporary society, such as economic bubbles and credit-card bankruptcy. Therefore, it is necessary to encourage a new branch of economics that reexamines hypotheses based on rationality in the narrow sense, and that studies how people actually behave in economic society.
The Association invites scholars, businesspersons and students in a wide range of related research fields (economics, finance, accounting, business administration, marketing, psychology, politics etc.) to join as members and pursue and enrich their interaction through the Association’s activities.