2017 Nobel winner for Economics supported demonetisation, rejected Rs 2000 note

In a tweet on November 8, 2016, along with a news article link on demonetisation, Thaler said, “This is a policy I have long supported. First step toward cashless and good start on reducing corruption.”

New Delhi: US economist Richard Thaler on Monday won the Nobel Economics Prize for his pioneering work bridging the gap between economics and psychology. The Nobel laurete had openly supported demonetisation when Modi government announced it last November,

In a tweet on November 8, 2016, along with a news article link on demonetisation, Thaler had tweeted, “This is a policy I have long supported. First step toward cashless and good start on reducing corruption.”

Here is the original tweet

Soon after responding to comments that Rs 2,000 currency notes are to be introduced, Thaler tweeted, "really? Damn".

Thaler, a Professor of Economics and Behavorial Science at the University of Chicago, today won the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences.

Former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan is currently serving as Distinguished Service Professor of Finance, University of Chicago Booth School. Rajan, whose name was also doing the rounds for the Nobel Prize, recently stated that he was never in favour of demonetisation.

His tweets came from the Twitter handle '@R_Thaler', which is not officially verified but was tagged by the official feed of the Nobel Prize.

"BREAKING NEWS The 2017 Prize in Economic Sciences is awarded to Richard H Thaler @R_Thaler @UChicago @ChicagoBooth #NobelPrize," the official twitter feed of the Nobel Prize tweeted today.

On November 8, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced demonetisation of old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes as part of efforts to curb illicit fund flows and corruption.

Thaler is the Charles R Walgreen Distinguished Service Professor of Economics and Behavioral Science and Director of the Center for Decision Research, Booth School of Business, University of Chicago.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences today said Thaler has incorporated psychologically realistic assumptions into analyses of economic decision-making.

"By exploring the consequences of limited rationality, social preferences, and lack of self-control, he has shown how these human traits systematically affect individual decisions as well as market outcomes," it said in a release while announcing him as the winner of the Nobel prize.

With PTI inputs