"Akerlof and Shiller believe that once we understand human psychology, we will be a lot less enthusiastic about free markets and a lot more worried about the harmful effects of competition. In their view, companies exploit human weaknesses not necessarily because they are malicious or venal, but because the market makes them do it. Those who fail to exploit people will lose out to those who do. In making that argument, Akerlof and Shiller object that the existing work of behavioral economists and psychologists offers a mere list of human errors, when what is required is a broader account of how and why markets produce systemic harm. [...] their extraordinary book tells us something true, and profoundly important, about the operations of the invisible hand. But the largest views can lose focus. If we seek to understand how the invisible hand goes wrong, and whether some kind of intervention is required, there is a lot to be said for specifying mechanisms and testing concrete hypotheses. If we do that, we might go far beyond a mere list, and we will find phishing of many different kinds."

"Phishing for Phools has a host of examples — from used car dealers to credit card usurers, from junk food to junk credits — where the authors feel free markets exploit consumers’ lack of knowledge or self-control and turn them into the “phools” who fall for the sales ploys. This line of argument has a long history. Where Akerlof and Shiller break new ground is the sweeping application of the idea of the “phishing equilibrium” to finance. But for two such insightful economists, the concept is curiously under-developed. [...] The style of Phishing for Phools will be familiar to fans of Shiller’s work: light on jargon and pacy enough not to outstay its welcome. The authors tell some engaging tales, although usually at the remove of a fellow academic’s research. There is not much grime or anguish, dialogue or doubt. [...] They give their readers a breezy ride through some modern behavioural economics — and if they leave them hungry for a little more nutrition, well, what clever marketer does not?"

"The true quality of the book lies in the fact that it acts as a reminder of the deception mechanisms at play in our daily lives. However, the demonstration of this faces three major pitfalls. The first is that Akerlof and Shiller cover an extremely broad range of topics, which often prevents them from delving into details. [...] The second pitfall is that Phishing for Phools quite often generalises notions. The authors classify human beings, whatever their awareness or brainpower may be, into two distinct categories of phools: psychological and informational phools. [...] There is also no mention of the most recent technological changes. [...] Phishing for Phools is an entertaining book with valuable anecdotes and pieces of evidence on a subject every citizen should bear in mind, yet is not an indispensable read as most of its insights will probably sound extremely familiar. The reading will, however, prove useful as a vital reminder that capitalism in the twenty-first century is – more than ever – not a zero-sum game.

"Its examples are well-known and overly dissected cases of economic misdeeds. Advertising misleads consumers. Credit card firms and car dealers rip us off. Rating agencies and investment banks gave us the subprime loan debacle. Food and pharmaceutical companies finesse regulations to bring unhealthy products to market. Akerlof and Shiller once again rely on behavioral economics to illustrate their cases, but after more than a decade of 'Freakonomics'-style books peddling gee-whiz findings, the authors sound a little like the guys still enamored of the hipster trend long after the hipsters have moved on."

"Phishing for Phools is a trivial work [...] the authors’ debunking of the classical economists’ theoretical construct of “homo economicus”—the idealized, cool, calculating, profit-maximizing, always-rational human—is unnecessary. That straw man bit the dust generations ago. [...] This book’s bias tilts toward more government intervention and control. [...] The prevalent assumption is that humans in the marketplace are phishers or phools, whereas humans working for government are cut from a purer ethical cloth."