A few words about Daniel Kahneman

Evaluating the experience

I met Danny in 2002 at an economics of happiness conference in Milan. He had just won the Nobel Prize in Economics. I had just been awarded a Philip Leverhulme Prize in Economics. You might not know what that is. It’s why I was at that conference but, well, it ain’t no Nobel. We sat next to one another on a short bus ride to the conference dinner. We quickly struck up a rapport and he invited me to spend some time with him at Princeton. I went over in 2004 and we worked together on a paper about valuing health which was subsequently published in the Economic Journal in 2008.

We stayed in touch for 20 years, seeing each other at a conference here and there, whenever he was in London or I was in New York; and we spoke on the phone or on zoom every few months. He was one of the first people I told about my heart attacks a couple of years ago.  He was always generous with his time and ideas. He respected my arguments even when we disagreed. I learned more from him than anyone else. We shared a belief in the fair innings argument (FIA): the idea that those with the shortest and most miserable lives should be given priority in the race for scarce public resources. We talked several times about the FIA during the pandemic. His advice was to forget about it at that time because no one would listen. He was right, as usual.

He was right about so much of human behaviour and wellbeing, and the obituary columns are sure to be littered with examples of his impact on psychology and economics. He was right about one central aspect of happiness – authenticity. He once told me that the quality he most admired about me was my willingness and ability to be myself. Back at ya, Danny. I am very lucky to be able to call him my friend. And I know that he felt lucky to have had more than his fair share of an amazing innings.

· These words were written after the news of the death of Daniel Kahneman on 27 March 2024.