Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything (Revised and Expanded)

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Overview

Which is more dangerous, a gun or a swimming pool? What do schoolteachers and sumo wrestlers have in common? Why do drug dealers still live with their moms? How much do parents really matter? What kind of impact did Roe v. Wade have on violent crime?

These may not sound like typical questions for an economist to ask. But Steven D. Levitt is not a typical economist. He is a much heralded scholar who studies the stuff and riddles of everyday life -- from cheating and crime to sports and child rearing -- and whose conclusions regularly turn the conventional wisdom on its head. He usually begins with a mountain of data and a simple, unasked question. Some of these questions concern life-and-death issues; others have an admittedly freakish quality. Thus the new field of study contained in this book: freakonomics.

Through forceful storytelling and wry insight, Levitt and co-author Stephen J. Dubner show that economics is, at root, the study of incentives -- how people get what they want, or need, especially when other people want or need the same thing. In Freakonomics, they set out to explore the hidden side of ... well, everything. The inner workings of a crack gang. The truth about real-estate agents. The myths of campaign finance. The telltale marks of a cheating schoolteacher. The secrets of the Ku Klux Klan.

What unites all these stories is a belief that the modern world, despite a surfeit of obfuscation, complication, and downright deceit, is not impenetrable, is not unknowable, and -- if the right questions are asked -- is even more intriguing than we think. All it takes is a new way of looking. Steven Levitt, through devilishly clever and clear-eyed thinking, shows how to see through all the clutter.

Freakonomics establishes this unconventional premise: If morality represents how we would like the world to work, then economics represents how it actually does work. It is true that readers of this book will be armed with enough riddles and stories to last a thousand cocktail parties. But Freakonomics can provide more than that. It will literally redefine the way we view the modern world.

Editorial Reviews

From Barnes & Noble

Is this book's appeal due to its wacky revisionist title, its unsettling take on Roe v. Wade, or just its compulsively readable argument that economics does nothing more than study the incentives that drive us? Probably all of the above. What we do know is that it's the only economics book we've ever labeled a page-turner. An extraordinary work of social science explanation without oversimplification.

Jim Holt

Economists can seem a little arrogant at times. They have a set of techniques and habits of thought that they regard as more ''rigorous'' than those of other social scientists. When they are successful -- one thinks of Amartya Sen's important work on the causes of famines, or Gary Becker's theory of marriage and rational behavior -- the result gets called economics. It might appear presumptuous of Steven Levitt to see himself as an all-purpose intellectual detective, fit to take on whatever puzzle of human behavior grabs his fancy. But on the evidence of Freakonomics, the presumption is earned.
— The New York York Times

More Reviews (1) Fewer Reviews

From The Critics

Though the idea of listening to an economics text may bring to mind nightmarish visions of incomprehensible facts, figures and graphs, this audiobook is refreshingly accessible and engrossing. Journalist Dubner reads with just the right mix of enthusiasm and awe, revealing juicy morsels of wisdom on everything from what sumo wrestlers and teachers have in common (a propensity to cheat) to whether parents can really push their kids to greatness by buying them Baby Einstein toys and enlisting them in numerous before- and after-school activities (not really). The only section that doesn't translate well to the format is the final one on naming conventions. The lists of "White Girl Names" and "Black Girl Names," and "Low-End" names and "High-End" names can be mind-numbing, though the text that breaks up these lists will intrigue. Overall, however, these unusual investigations by Levitt, the "rogue" of the subtitle, make for meaty-and entertaining-listening. Simultaneous release with the Morrow hardcover (Reviews, Mar. 14). (May) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780061234002
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date: 10/17/2006
Edition description: Revised and Expanded
Pages: 336
Sales rank: 66,695
Product dimensions: 6.40 (w) x 9.10 (h) x 1.30 (d)

Meet the Author

Steven D. Levitt is a professor of economics at the University of Chicago and a recipient of the John Bates Clark Medal, awarded to the most influential economist under the age of forty.

Read an Excerpt

Chapter One

What Do Schoolteachers
and Sumo Wrestlers
Have in Common?

Imagine for a moment that you are the manager of a day-care center. You have a clearly stated policy that children are supposed to be picked up by 4 p.m. But very often parents are late. The result: at day's end, you have some anxious children and at least one teacher who must wait around for the parents to arrive. What to do?

A pair of economists who heard of this dilemma -- it turned out to be a rather common one -- offered a solution: fine the tardy parents. Why, after all, should the day-care center take care of these kids for free?

The economists decided to test their solution by conducting a study of ten day-care centers in Haifa, Israel. The study lasted twenty weeks, but the fine was not introduced immediately. For the first four weeks, the economists simply kept track of the number of parents who came late; there were, on average, eight late pickups per week per day-care center. In the fifth week, the fine was enacted. It was announced that any parent arriving more than ten minutes late would pay $3 per child for each incident. The fee would be added to the parents' monthly bill, which was roughly $380.

After the fine was enacted, the number of late pickups promptly went ... up. Before long there were twenty late pickups per week, more than double the original average. The incentive had plainly backfired.

Economics is, at root, the study of incentives: how people get what they want, or need, especially when other people want or need the same thing. Economists love incentives. They love to dream them up and enact them, study them and tinker with them. The typical economist believes the world has not yet invented a problem that he cannot fix if given a free hand to design the proper incentive scheme. His solution may not always be pretty -- it may involve coercion or exorbitant penalties or the violation of civil liberties -- but the original problem, rest assured, will be fixed. An incentive is a bullet, a lever, a key: an often tiny object with astonishing power to change a situation.

We all learn to respond to incentives, negative and positive, from the outset of life. If you toddle over to the hot stove and touch it, you burn a finger. But if you bring home straight A's from school, you get a new bike. If you are spotted picking your nose in class, you get ridiculed. But if you make the basketball team, you move up the social ladder. If you break curfew, you get grounded. But if you ace your SATs, you get to go to a good college. If you flunk out of law school, you have to go to work at your father's insurance company. But if you perform so well that a rival company comes calling, you become a vice president and no longer have to work for your father. If you become so excited about your new vice president job that you drive home at eighty mph, you get pulled over by the police and fined $100. But if you hit your sales projections and collect a year-end bonus, you not only aren't worried about the $100 ticket but can also afford to buy that Viking range you've always wanted -- and on which your toddler can now burn her own finger.

An incentive is simply a means of urging people to do more of a good thing and less of a bad thing. But most incentives don't come about organically. Someone -- an economist or a politician or a parent -- has to invent them. Your three-year-old eats all her vegetables for a week? She wins a trip to the toy store. A big steelmaker belches too much smoke into the air? The company is fined for each cubic foot of pollutants over the legal limit. Too many Americans aren't paying their share of income tax? It was the economist Milton Friedman who helped come up with a solution to this one: automatic tax withholding from employees' paychecks.

There are three basic flavors of incentive: economic, social, and moral. Very often a single incentive scheme will include all three varieties. Think about the anti-smoking campaign of recent years. The addition of a $3-per-pack "sin tax" is a strong economic incentive against buying cigarettes. The banning of cigarettes in restaurants and bars is a powerful social incentive. And when the U.S. government asserts that terrorists raise money by selling black-market cigarettes, that acts as a rather jarring moral incentive.

Some of the most compelling incentives yet invented have been put in place to deter crime. Considering this fact, it might be worthwhile to take a familiar question -- why is there so much crime in modern society? -- and stand it on its head: why isn't there a lot more crime?

After all, every one of us regularly passes up opportunities to maim, steal, and defraud. The chance of going to jail—thereby losing your job, your house, and your freedom, all of which are essentially economic penalties -- is certainly a strong incentive. But when it comes to crime, people also respond to moral incentives (they don't want to do something they consider wrong) and social incentives (they don't want to be seen by others as doing something wrong). For certain types of misbehavior, social incentives are terribly powerful. In an echo of Hester Prynne's scarlet letter, many American cities now fight prostitution with a "shaming" offensive, posting pictures of convicted johns (and prostitutes) on websites or on local-access television. Which is a more horrifying deterrent: a $500 fine for soliciting a prostitute or the thought of your friends and family ogling you on www.HookersAndJohns.com ...

The foregoing is excerpted from Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J Dubner. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced without written permission from HarperCollins Publishers, 10 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022

	Introduction : the hidden side of everything	3
1	What do schoolteachers and sumo wrestlers have in common?	19
2	How is the Ku Klux Klan like a group of real-estate agents?	55
3	Why do drug dealers still live with their moms?	89
4	Where have all the criminals gone?	117
5	What makes a perfect parent?	147
6	Perfect parenting, Part II; or : would a Roshanda by any other name smell as sweet?	179
	Epilogue : two paths to Harvard	205

First Chapter

Freakonomics Rev Ed
A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything

Chapter One

What Do Schoolteachers and Sumo Wrestlers Have in Common?

Imagine for a moment that you are the manager of a day-care center. You have a clearly stated policy that children are supposed to be picked up by 4 P.M. But very often parents are late. The result: at day's end, you have some anxious children and at least one teacher who must wait around for the parents to arrive. What to do?

A pair of economists who heard of this dilemma—it turned out to be a rather common one—offered a solution: fine the tardy parents. Why, after all, should the day-care center take care of these kids for free?

After the fine was enacted, the number of late pickups promptly went . . . up. Before long there were twenty late pickups per week, more than double the original average. The incentive had plainly backfired.

Economics is, at root, the study of incentives: how people get what they want, or need, especially when other peoplewant or need the same thing. Economists love incentives. They love to dream them up and enact them, study them and tinker with them. The typical economist believes the world has not yet invented a problem that he cannot fix if given a free hand to design the proper incentive scheme. His solution may not always be pretty—it may involve coercion or exorbitant penalties or the violation of civil liberties—but the original problem, rest assured, will be fixed. An incentive is a bullet, a lever, a key: an often tiny object with astonishing power to change a situation.

We all learn to respond to incentives, negative and positive, from the outset of life. If you toddle over to the hot stove and touch it, you burn a finger. But if you bring home straight A's from school, you get a new bike. If you are spotted picking your nose in class, you get ridiculed. But if you make the basketball team, you move up the social ladder. If you break curfew, you get grounded. But if you ace your SATs, you get to go to a good college. If you flunk out of law school, you have to go to work at your father's insurance company. But if you perform so well that a rival company comes calling, you become a vice president and no longer have to work for your father. If you become so excited about your new vice president job that you drive home at eighty mph, you get pulled over by the police and fined $100. But if you hit your sales projections and collect a year-end bonus, you not only aren't worried about the $100 ticket but can also afford to buy that Viking range you've always wanted—and on which your toddler can now burn her own finger.

An incentive is simply a means of urging people to do more of a good thing and less of a bad thing. But most incentives don't come about organically. Someone—an economist or a politician or a parent—has to invent them. Your three-year-old eats all her vegetables for a week? She wins a trip to the toy store. A big steelmaker belches too much smoke into the air? The company is fined for each cubic foot of pollutants over the legal limit. Too many Americans aren't paying their share of income tax? It was the economist Milton Friedman who helped come up with a solution to this one: automatic tax withholding from employees' paychecks.

Some of the most compelling incentives yet invented have been put in place to deter crime. Considering this fact, it might be worthwhile to take a familiar question—why is there so much crime in modern society?—and stand it on its head: why isn't there a lot more crime?

After all, every one of us regularly passes up opportunities to maim, steal, and defraud. The chance of going to jail—thereby losing your job, your house, and your freedom, all of which are essentially economic penalties—is certainly a strong incentive. But when it comes to crime, people also respond to moral incentives (they don't want to do something they consider wrong) and social incentives (they don't want to be seen by others as doing something wrong). For certain types of misbehavior, social incentives are terribly powerful. In an echo of Hester Prynne's scarlet letter, many American cities now fight prostitution with a "shaming" offensive, posting pictures of convicted johns (and prostitutes) on websites or on local-access television. Which is a more horrifying deterrent: a $500 fine for soliciting a prostitute or the thought of your friends and family ogling you on www.HookersAndJohns.com?

So through a complicated, haphazard, and constantly readjusted web of economic, social, and moral incentives, modern society does its best to militate against crime. Some people would argue that we don't do a very good job. But . . .

Freakonomics Rev Ed
A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything. Copyright © by Steven Levitt. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold.

Interviews & Essays

A Message from the Coauthor

Steven Levitt doesn't think like you and me. (Well, I can't vouch for you, but I can vouch for me.) He has a brain that seems to hum along on its very own frequency. He can look at some scenario -- the rise and fall of crime, the real-estate market, the modern obsession with competitive parenting -- and instantly begin to ask questions, and come up with answers, that are simply astounding. In retrospect, you may scratch your head and say, "Why didn't I think of that?" This is what makes his work so intoxicating: He answers the questions we haven't yet figured out how to ask.

Yes, it's true that Levitt is an economist. But never before has the so-called dismal science been given a less dismal presentation. As Levitt sees it, economics is a science with excellent tools for gaining answers but a serious shortage of interesting questions. His particular gift is the ability to ask such questions. For instance: If drug dealers make so much money, why do they still live with their mothers? Which is more dangerous, a gun or a swimming pool? What really caused crime rates to plunge during the past decade? Do real-estate agents have their clients' best interests at heart? Why do black parents give their children names that may hurt their career prospects? Do schoolteachers cheat to meet high-stakes testing standards? Is sumo wrestling corrupt?

Levitt works with data, mountains of it, and from his data he teases out stories that are often surprising and may even make us uncomfortable, but which are most likely true. Several years ago, for instance, he wrote a paper linking Roe v. Wade with a drop in crime. His thinking went like this: the women most likely to seek an abortion in the wake of Roe v. Wade -- poor, single, or teenage mothers -- were the very women whose children, if born, have been shown most likely to become criminals. But since those children weren't born, crime began to decrease during the years they would have entered their criminal prime.

Unlike a politician or a theologian or a paid pundit, Levitt is free to come up with answers based on nothing more complicated than the truth. Morality, it could be argued, represents the way that people would like the world to work -- whereas economics represents how it actually does work. The modern world, despite a surfeit of obfuscation, complication, and downright deceit, is not impenetrable, is not unknowable, and -- if the right questions are asked -- is even more intriguing than one might think. All it takes is a new way of looking. Stephen J. Dubner

Reading Group Guide

About the Book

These may not sound like typical questions for an economist to ask. But Steven D. Levitt is not a typical economist. He is a much-heralded young scholar who studies the riddles of everyday life -- from cheating and crime to sports and child-rearing -- and whose conclusions regularly turn the conventional wisdom on its head. He usually begins with a mountain of data and a simple, unasked question. Some of these questions concern life-and-death issues; others have an admittedly freakish quality. Thus the new field of study contained in this book: Freakonomics.

Through forceful storytelling and wry insight, Levitt and co-author Stephen J. Dubner show that economics is, at root, the study of incentives -- how people get what they want, or need, especially when other people want or need the same thing. In Freakonomics, they set out to explore the hidden side of ... well, everything. The inner workings of a crack gang. The truth about real-estate agents. The myths of campaign finance. The telltale marks of a cheating schoolteacher. The secrets of the Ku Klux Klan.

What unites all these stories is a belief that the modern world, despite a surfeit of obfuscation, complication, and downright deceit, is not impenetrable, is not unknowable, and - if the right questions are asked -- is even more intriguing than we think. All it takes is a new way of looking. Steven Levitt, through devilishly clever and clear-eyed thinking, shows how to see through all the clutter.

Freakonomics establishes this unconventional premise: if morality represents how we would like the world to work, then economics represents how it actually does work. It is true that readers of this book will be armed with enough riddles and stories to last a thousand cocktail parties. But Freakonomics can provide more than that. It will literally redefine the way we view the modern world.

Discussion Questions:

Most people think of economics as a dry subject matter concerning monetary and fiscal matters. How does Freakonomics change this definition?

Freakonomics argues that morality represent the way we'd like the world to work, whereas economics can show how the world really does work. Do you agree?

Freakonomics lists three varieties of incentives: social, moral, and financial. Can you think of others?

Freakonomics shows how the conventional wisdom is often shoddily formed. What are some instances of conventional wisdom that you've always doubted?

Does it seem as though "experts" truly hold too much power in the modern world, or are we lucky to have them?

What are some issues in your daily life toward which you can apply some Freakonomics-style thinking?

What were some of the most convincing arguments put forth in Freakonomics? What were some of the least convincing?

How does the argument linking Roe v. Wade to a drop in crime change your thinking about abortion?

How does the view of parenting in Freakonomics jibe with your own view?

After reading Freakonomics, do you think that cheating is more prevalent or less prevalent than you thought it was before you read the book?

About the authors

Steven Levitt is a Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago and an editor of The Journal of Political Economy. In January 2004 he was awarded the John Bates Clark medal -- for the economist under 40 who has made the greatest contribution to the discipline -- by the American Economic Association.

Stephen J. Dubner is the author of Confessions of a Hero Worshiper and Turbulent Souls and is a former writer and editor at the New York Times Magazine. He lives in New York City with his family.

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Anonymous

Posted October 27, 2008

I Also Recommend:

A look at things through the eyes of an economist.

This book is a general interest book- and it certainly is interesting. The book, for anyone looking for an entertaining read, will like it. In a nutshell, the book takes a look at all sorts of things in society, from crack gangs to parenting, and then attempts to make sense of them by applying econonmic principles. According to the book, economics is really the study of incentives, and so using this kind of angle, the book comes up with answers to why things work the way they do.

A book that's hard to put down, I'm sure many readers will enjoy it. Also recommend The Sixty-Second Motivator for a more simplistic explanation of what motivates people and gives them incentives to do what they do.

15 out of 15 people found this review helpful.
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SSSMN

Posted May 1, 2010

I Also Recommend:

A poor man's Outliers

I listened to the audio book Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell before I listened to Freakonomics. They are similar in style -- drawing conclusions about modern phenomena based on outlying characteristics. But Gladwell does a better job of telling compelling stories.

Freakonomics was more negative - discussing cheating teachers, drug gangs, etc. Gladwell found interesting correlations in less cynical subjects.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Annie_IRP

Posted February 26, 2010

Very Interesting, Enjoyable Read

Freakonomics is certainly not the type of book I usually read, but I couldn't resist after all that I had heard about it. The six sections of the book, each bearing an intriguing title, explore truths behind modern day conventional wisdom, incentives, and morality. Covering a wide range of topics, from sumo wrestling to the bagel business to the Ku Klux Klan, the book offered a refreshing perspective to a few fascinating questions.

Levitt's argument that legalized abortion played the central force behind the crime drop of the 1990s, though at first startling, seemed to be thoroughly supported with convincing evidence. This trend follows throughout the book, as the authors present plenty of statistics for each of their findings and let the numbers speak for themselves. Levitt and Dubner stand strong despite all controversy, further solidifying their arguments as well as making the expanded version an interesting read.

Overall, the book was well-written and intended for a lay audience, straying away from sounding too scientific. Each chapter proved entertaining, as Dubner explains logical arguments with enthusiasm and a bit of humor. I truly enjoyed the eye-opening approach that Freakonomics offered and the strange topics of interest, learning much along the way.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Pass

Posted January 5, 2010

An incredibly enlightening book.

Freakonomics provides the reader with the chance to take a new perspective on many different topics. It answers a seemingly complex question of why exactly drug dealers live with their mothers and shows how gangs are the reason why. This book is one that you would not want to put down and will want to read it through to the end. I would suggest that everybody reads this book and learn from it some very hard lessons. A chapter in the book describes how criminologists incorrectly found the answer to the 1990's crime rate drop and how that drop is linked to the legalization of abortion. Levitt and Dubner also show how everybody responds to an incentive, comparing the prices real estate agents get for their house versus their clients; also providing why a sumo wrestler is like a school teacher. This book shows the reader the hidden side of decision-making and how the economy works. It provides an insight to the world of economists and into the world of both psychology and sociology. From the book you can learn ways to bring patterns out of data (even though this wasn't an intention of the book) which is a very valuable skill to have. Another thing to learn is that common, conventional wisdom is mostly made up of lies and is created by "experts" in their own interest. It explains how those experts manipulate people by using their ignorance against them, and hopefully will teach the reader not to believe everything they hear. This book is one that every person needs to read at some point in their life, as it provides many different answers to life's questions and presents the method for answering those. Those methods can be used to answer your own personal questions and will help you out during your entire life.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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UCFJennybean

Posted August 21, 2009

more from this reviewer

One of my favorite reads EVER

I absolutely loved this book. As an economics major it is so great to see the field studied and written about in a practical use that the majority will find interesting, even without ever really understanding an economics class. The reasearch was very thorough and the book is so fun and unique. It is a must read! I read this when it first came out years ago and I have re-read it multiple times out of the pure enjoyment of it.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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tjm22

Posted December 7, 2008

Freakonmicsis: fun on every level

Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner is an easy, interesting book, even for people who do not usually like nonfiction or economics. Although based around economics the boook links people and situations that one would never believe could be linked before reading the book. With such chapters Why do drug dealers still with their parents? and What do sumo wrestlers and teachers have in common? the book only gives the facts about the situations and leaves readers up to the challenge of figuring out what these facts mean. As I opened the book I never believed it would keep my attention throughtout. But as the facts came out and two totally different situations were linked I couldn' t put the book down. This book is good for anyone intersted in learning random facts that can be turned into a whole diffrent level of learning. Fun and interesting this book could be read by almost anyone.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous

Posted October 5, 2008

Fascinating

Even though I did not think I would enjoy reading a book about economics I was pleasantly surprised by Freakonomics. It takes an unusual approach asking questions like ¿What do schoolteachers and sumo wrestlers have in common?¿ and ¿Where have all the criminals gone?¿ While some may not want to believe that the legalization of abortion is part of the reason crime rates have gone down the book shows you how the two are connected. Freakonomics is almost like a murder mystery that keeps you guessing to find out how and why two unrelated things are correlated. The book is packed with surprises and defines not how we see the world work, but how it actually does work. Even after finishing the book I went back to re-read some chapters because they were so intriguing .

1 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous

Posted January 2, 2012

Very interesting.

Full of very interesting and surprising facts. A must read!
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Anonymous

Posted December 28, 2011

Awesome

Eye opening to say the least
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Anonymous

Posted August 19, 2011

An interesting read but a little pricey
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7932274

Posted August 16, 2011

This is an awesome book

Will not disappoint. Chapter 4 left me with one final thought - wow. Worth it.
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KKestrel

Posted April 8, 2011

Extremely enjoyable & informative read!

This book is proof that economics need neither be dry nor dull! It's extremely well written and covers a range of topics that will be (or should be) of interest to the vast majority of readers...
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AM_Olga_

Posted April 6, 2011

Both Intriguing and Knowledgeable!

This unconventional economics book hooks a reader at first glance. It can relate to anyones life; since it portrays societies daily hardships. By doing so, its a simple, intriguing quick read, that one will never forget. Hands down, greatest economics book!
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Chrisperez123

Posted March 22, 2011

Extraordinarily Insightful!

The topics in this book, ranging from cheating sumo wrestlers to crafty Real Estate agents, are explained with the full spectrum of possibility in mind. This book does a fantastic job of widening one's perspective and making one much more critically inclined. This is the type of book that anyone could benefit from reading, regardless of age or occupation. I'd recommend it to anyone!
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5916014

Posted January 24, 2011

ECONOMIC FESTIVUS FOR THE REST OF US!

Grand book if you are taking economics or even if you have a mild interest in behavioral economics. I would suggest this book.
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NathanHall419

Posted December 15, 2010

more from this reviewer

Excellent Read

Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner do an excellent job in detailing a subject (economics) that many do not like to discuss. The real world examples and relations that they use make it not only an informative read, but also one the reader can relate to real life examples. I recommend this book as well as the follow up SuperFreakonomics.
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Anonymous

Posted December 10, 2010

FUN

This book is really fun to read! Lots of really cool stuff you would have never thought of! I highly recommend it!
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DP2010

Posted November 7, 2010

Somewhat Recommended- You should read it.

I liked how they used different and weird situations to describe economics and how we should pay close attention to the world and our surroundings. It shows that economics is everywhere and it takes some real life situations and describes it so that you do know whats going on and how you would never guess who would cheat but they will just to get money. I loved how they related two really different topics together and made them relate in a way that we understood and think is creative. It just shows us that economics can be related to anything and described to two very different things and it was very interesting to read for me.
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Gparcells

Posted November 8, 2010

Easy Read - very imformational

I found this book to be very interesting. I liked the fact that it had a lot of examples to help support the author's thoughts. I also liked the fact that the stories were about topics that I had enough knowledge about to know what the author was talking about. The only thing that troubled me about this book still is the organization. Throughout all the chapters, and stories for that matter, I had to stop to remind myself what the book was talking about. With all the math, science, and reasoning within every story, I found myself confused and in need of explaining. Overall the book was good and it did help my insight and changed my perspective on how economics work.
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AMcCombs

Posted October 12, 2010

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READ THIS BOOK!

Freakonomics by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner is a book in a class of its own. Economics, a typically boring subject based on finances and money, is looked at from a different angle. In Freakonomics, Levitt and Dubner's research shows that economic research can be put into real life situations to help show why some things are the way they are. Although that might sound nearly as boring as economics, both authors choose very interesting topics to relate the informational trends to. Why drug dealers still live with their moms and how the legalization of abortion dropped crime rates nearly 20 years in the future are some of the first topics you will see discussed. This book will leave you in awe and will truly keep you thinking outside the box!

This book is definitely one I would recommend. I think this book was great because it really makes you think in ways you have never thought before. Regardless of your intelligence, Freakonomics brings out ideas that have never gone through your mind. I would recommend this book to almost anyone. Because of some tough vocabulary and deep topics though, I would not recommend attempting this read before at least later teen age. This book is great for anyone who likes to think outside the box and loves learning as they read. Although the book is non-fiction, Freakonomics will still have you craving to turn the next page. It is also very convenient because it is very easy to read in multiple settings. It is very hard to lose track of what is going on in this book. If you are looking for a good book, typically on the go, and love stretching your brain to new levels, then Freakonomics will not leave you unsatisfied!
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Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything (Revised and Expanded)

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A look at things through the eyes of an economist.

A poor man's Outliers

Very Interesting, Enjoyable Read

An incredibly enlightening book.

One of my favorite reads EVER

Freakonmicsis: fun on every level

Fascinating

Very interesting.

Awesome

This is an awesome book

Extremely enjoyable & informative read!

Both Intriguing and Knowledgeable!

Extraordinarily Insightful!

ECONOMIC FESTIVUS FOR THE REST OF US!

Excellent Read

FUN

Somewhat Recommended- You should read it.

Easy Read - very imformational

READ THIS BOOK!

What Do Schoolteachers
and Sumo Wrestlers
Have in Common?