Leading researcher John F. Tomer presents an invigorating and concise introduction to behavioral economics that offers essential behavioral theories, perspectives, trends and developments within this ever-evolving discipline.

The efficient markets hypothesis has been the central proposition in finance for nearly thirty years. It states that securities prices in financial markets must equal fundamental values, either because all investors are rational or because arbitrage eliminates pricing anomalies. This book describes an alternative approach to the study of financial markets: behavioral finance. This approach starts with an observation that the assumptions of investor rationality and perfect arbitrage are overwhelmingly contradicted by both psychological and institutional evidence. In actual financial markets, less than fully rational investors trade against arbitrageurs whose resources are limited by risk aversion, short horizons, and agency problems. The book presents and empirically evaluates models of such inefficient markets. Behavioral finance models both explain the available financial data better than does the efficient markets hypothesis and generate new empirical predictions. These models can account for such anomalies as the superior performance of value stocks, the closed end fund puzzle, the high returns on stocks included in market indices, the persistence of stock price bubbles, and even the collapse of several well-known hedge funds in 1998. By summarizing and expanding the research in behavioral finance, the book builds a new theoretical and empirical foundation for the economic analysis of real-world markets.

Through detailed discussion of the central principles of behavioral finance, this enlightening Advanced Introduction provides a balanced exploration of the broad issues within the field. Chapters explain the continuous development of the discipline and provide a useful differentiation between behavioral finance and standard finance.

An in-depth look into the various aspects of behavioral finance Behavioral finance applies systematic analysis to ideas that have long floated around the world of trading and investing. Yet it is important to realize that we are still at a very early stage of research into this discipline and have much to learn. That is why Edwin Burton has written Behavioral Finance: Understanding the Social, Cognitive, and Economic Debates. Engaging and informative, this timely guide contains valuable insights into various issues surrounding behavioral finance. Topics addressed include noise trader theory and models, research into psychological behavior pioneered by Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky, and serial correlation patterns in stock price data. Along the way, Burton shares his own views on behavioral finance in order to shed some much-needed light on the subject. Discusses the Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH) and its history, and presents the background of the emergence of behavioral finance Examines Shleifer's model of noise trading and explores other literature on the topic of noise trading Covers issues associated with anomalies and details serial correlation from the perspective of experts such as DeBondt and Thaler A companion Website contains supplementary material that allows you to learn in a hands-on fashion long after closing the book In order to achieve better investment results, we must first overcome our behavioral finance biases. This book will put you in a better position to do so.

People tend to be penny wise and pound foolish and cry over spilt milk, even though we are taught to do neither. Focusing on the present at the expense of the future and basing decisions on lost value are two mistakes common to decision-making that are particularly costly in the world of finance. Behavioral Finance: What Everyone Needs to KnowR provides an overview of common shortcuts and mistakes people make in managing their finances. It covers the common cognitive biases or errors that occur when people are collecting, processing, and interpreting information. These include emotional biases and the influence of social factors, from culture to the behavior of one's peers. These effects vary during one's life, reflecting differences in due to age, experience, and gender. Among the questions to be addressed are: How did the financial crisis of 2007-2008 spur understanding human behavior? What are market anomalies and how do they relate to behavioral biases? What role does overconfidence play in financial decision- making? And how does getting older affect risk tolerance?

The Handbook of Behavioral Finance is a comprehensive, topical and concise source of cutting-edge research on recent developments in behavioral finance. The Handbook is divided into three areas of interest. The first - Behavioral Biases - includes discussions on herding in the market, information processing and the disposition effect in investment decisions. In the second section - Behavior in the Investment Process - topics explored include the effects of higher transaction costs on traders' behavior, investor sentiment, overconfidence and active management, and behavior effects on forecasts. The final section - Global Behavior - looks at the effects of various aspects of behavioral finance in international markets including Malaysia, Finland, Australia and Brazil. Consolidating a colossal amount of research into one volume, this Handbook will stimulate new interdisciplinary research for academics, build a body of knowledge about psychological influences on market behavior for finance students, and give practitioners a better understanding of psychological influences on the markets in order to improve investment decision making.

This work offers a practical, concise introduction to behavioral finance--a method that is revolutionizing investment because it places real human beings at the center of the market, and shows how human sentiment and emotion is what really drives securities markets.