Marketing Analysis

The following has become a question mark for many economists and researchers: why people appear to fail to take the right steps in their financial best interest? Let's look more closely. We know that in life, people often set themselves in risky situations. Some people play football when they know they might injure their knees and backs, or worse. Some people smoke when they know smoking causes cancer and heart disease. Some people drive fast and change lanes carelessly even when they know that, in doing so, they could kill themselves and others. People do many things that do not appear to be in their best interest. In the article “The avuncular state” it is evident that economists should look at people from different outlooks; one of these perspectives is the “behavioral economics” viewpoint, which may help them understand people’s financial behavior. It has been suggested that people develop certain pattern in their economic behavior, and that some of these patterns may result in poor economic decisions. Many of these decisions influence whether people choose to save money or not. “The avuncular state” mentions that people do not like to postpone pleasure and that as humans, we are “impatient” and that we want immediate rewards. For example, for many among us, the sacrifice of having a healthy diet can be easily seen. It includes the immediate sacrifice of foods we get pleasure from. It might also require a big change in behaviors related with eating more carefully, a planned grocery shopping list and fewer restaurant meals, regular exercise and less easy time. At the same time, the benefits associated with a healthy diet are not immediate and are not certain that they will be reached, if they are reached at all, in the future. An individual could stick to the world's most healthy diet and be hit by a bus tomorrow! That is the way most people think regarding life-decision situations. Probably the effort involved in giving up delicious, satisfying, and unhealthy food would seem, in such a case, pointless and wasted. “Intertemporal Choice” is an article written by Richard H. Thaler in which he has conducted different research; in this article he explains that people are not “consistent over time” in their financial decision-making (Analysis of Markets P.68). For example when school starts students are excited to do well and plan their semester with lots of fancy colors, however the more the time passes the less those plans are followed; this phenomenon has been explained in the article “ Why Johnny can’t save for retirement- Fortune” written by Justin Fox; human brain consist of “two different selves”. One brain says that “I will work very hard this semester”