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File name: SSRN-id1943325. ; Size: 333K
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Fear, Greed, and Financial Crises: A Cognitive Neurosciences Perspective
Andrew W. Lo
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - Sloan School of Management; Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL); National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
October 13, 2011
Abstract:
Historical accounts of financial crises suggest that fear and greed are the common denominators of these disruptive events: periods of unchecked greed eventually lead to excessive leverage and unsustainable asset-price levels, and the inevitable collapse results in unbridled fear, which must subside before any recovery is possible. The cognitive neurosciences may provide some new insights into this boom/bust pattern through a deeper understanding of the dynamics of emotion and human behavior. In this chapter, I describe some recent research from the neurosciences literature on fear and reward learning, mirror neurons, theory of mind, and the link between emotion and rational behavior. By exploring the neuroscientific basis of cognition and behavior, we may be able to identify more fundamental drivers of financial crises, and improve our models and methods for dealing with them.
Number of Pages in PDF File: 50
Keywords: financial crisis, neuroeconomics, animal spirits, behavioral finance
JEL Classification: G18, G28, G38, D10, D81
working papers series
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Date posted: October 14, 2011
Suggested CitationLo, Andrew W., Fear, Greed, and Financial Crises: A Cognitive Neurosciences Perspective (October 13, 2011). Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1943325 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1943325
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