Special Behavioural boozeonomics, with the London Behavioural Economics Network

Tuesday drinks will be on the Wed 23rd this month with a special talk to celebrate the second anniversary of the London Behavioural Economics Network

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In conversation with Rory Sutherland & George Loewenstein: What’s life like on the other side of the behavioural fence?

As well as our usual informal evening gathering for behavioural economics practitioners and academics, we’re celebrating the second anniversary of the London Behavioural Economics Network with a special visit from Rory Sutherland & George Loewenstein, who will talk with each other about what life’s life on the other side of the behavioural fence.

Event schedule:

6.30pm - Doors open in the big function room on the main deck of the Tattershall Castle

7.15pm - Introduction to LBEN and the event by Leigh Caldwell and Oliver Payne, followed by discussion between George and Rory, and an opportunity to ask questions

8.10pm-11pm – Mingle, drink and have fun!

Numbers are limited.

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George Loewenstein is a professor of behavioural economics at Carnegie Mellon (http://www.cmu.edu/dietrich/sds/people/faculty/george-loewenstein.html) (on sabbatical this year and visiting London School of Economics). His book, Exotic Preferences (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Exotic-Preferences-Behavioral-Economics-Motivation/dp/0199257086) (not quite what it sounds like, though he has done research into decision-making under sexual arousal!) explores many of the ways in which human desires and behaviours do not follow a model which fits any kind of standard preferences. More than just highlighting departures from economic rationality, George’s work suggests that we might need to base our understanding of choices on something new altogether: perhaps not based on preferences at all.

Among other things he’s researched how curiosity works, why on earth people keep climbing mountains, how good we are at predicting our future tastes, how much weight we put on product attributes we understand versus those we can easily measure, and whether people are actually as impatient as we think. His work spans neuroeconomics, emotions, health, conflicts of interest, social comparison, sex and relationships, and the economics of information. He also has strong opinions on how to use behavioural economics in public policy (and when not to). George is one of the most influential researchers in the field and has worked during a 30-year career with many of the other big names: Thaler, Ariely, Camerer, Prelec, O’Donoghue, Laibson, Slovic and too many more to mention.

All this and he’s a fun and engaging speaker too. We’re looking forward to hearing him in conversation with Rory about academia, business and society, and the impact of behavioural economics on them all.

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Rory Sutherland is one the most articulate proponents of behavioural economics in advertising and communications. And, as vice-chairman of Ogilvy Group UK, founder of OgilvyChange (a specialist behaviour change unit), a TED speaker with millions of views, ex-Institute of Practitioners in Advertising Chairman, Spectator magazine columnist, contributor to Wired Magazine, and author of The Wiki Man (2011), his voice is widely heard.

Rory’s early life saw him studying classics at Cambridge, and after a short time as a classics teacher, he joined the advertising agency Ogilvy & Mather's planning department in 1988 and became a junior copywriter working on Microsoft's account in its pre-Windows days. An early fan of the Internet, he was among the first in the traditional ad world to see the potential in these relatively unknown technologies. By the late 90’s he was running the creative department. In the late noughties as Chairman of the IPA he put the application of behavioural economics principles at the heart of advertising – a shift that caught the imagination of every paygrade in the industry. His ability to divine and crystallise that which will change fundamentally the world in which we live is a constant in Rory’s working life, and today his work shapes both government policy and business strategy.

For more on advertising in the age of behaviour follow Rory through his blog at his column "The Wiki Man" (http://www.spectator.co.uk/columnists/all/587596/the-wiki-man.thtml) at The Spectator, and his busy Twitter account (https://twitter.com/rorysutherland).

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We have a great new venue (or simply, 'a venue', if you’ve not been before) on the Tattershall Castle boat moored infront of London Eye at Embankment. http://www.thetattershallcastle.co.uk/contact-us/

It’s very close to Embankment Station (District, Circle, Bakerloo, Northern Line), Charing Cross (District, Circle, Bakerloo, Northern Line), Westminster (Jubilee Line), and a short hop over Hungerford bridge (the walkway one) to Waterloo Station.