New Delhi, March 26 -- The recent release of Korean group BTS's Arirang album looks less like a musical comeback after a break and more like a case study in the strategic manipulation of consumer psychology. While publicists have framed the group's return from a mandatory hiatus for military service as a cultural restoration, a closer analysis suggests a masterclass in behavioural economics.

BTS's comeback is projected to inject billions of dollars into the global economy. This cannot be explained by traditional economics alone, as it reflects an interplay of the 'expectation effect', theory of 'intertemporal choice' and the 'scarcity heuristic.'

At the heart of the Arirang phenomenon is the expectation effect-a cognitive bias where ant...