Freakonomics [Revised and Expanded]: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything | ![Freakonomics [Revised and Expanded]: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Z1scnqz1L._SL500_.jpg)
| Authors: Steven D. Levitt, Stephen J. Dubner
Publisher: William Morrow
Category: Book
List Price: $27.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  1545 reviews
Sales Rank: 127
Media: Hardcover
Edition: Revised & Expand, Roughcut
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 336
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.2
ISBN: 0061234001
Dewey Decimal Number: 330
EAN: 9780061234002
ASIN: 0061234001
Publication Date: October 2, 2006
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Economics is not widely considered to be one of the sexier sciences. The annual Nobel Prize winner in that field never receives as much publicity as his or her compatriots in peace, literature, or physics. But if such slights are based on the notion that economics is dull, or that economists are concerned only with finance itself, Steven D. Levitt will change some minds. In Freakonomics (written with Stephen J. Dubner), Levitt argues that many apparent mysteries of everyday life don't need to be so mysterious: they could be illuminated and made even more fascinating by asking the right questions and drawing connections. For example, Levitt traces the drop in violent crime rates to a drop in violent criminals and, digging further, to the Roe v. Wade decision that preempted the existence of some people who would be born to poverty and hardship. Elsewhere, by analyzing data gathered from inner-city Chicago drug-dealing gangs, Levitt outlines a corporate structure much like McDonald's, where the top bosses make great money while scores of underlings make something below minimum wage. And in a section that may alarm or relieve worried parents, Levitt argues that parenting methods don't really matter much and that a backyard swimming pool is much more dangerous than a gun. These enlightening chapters are separated by effusive passages from Dubner's 2003 profile of Levitt in The New York Times Magazine, which led to the book being written. In a book filled with bold logic, such back-patting veers Freakonomics, however briefly, away from what Levitt actually has to say. Although maybe there's a good economic reason for that too, and we're just not getting it yet. --John Moe
Product Description
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? How did the legalization of abortion affect the rate of violent crime? These may not sound like typical questions for an econo-mist to ask. But Steven D. Levitt is not a typical economist. He is a much-heralded scholar who studies the riddles of everyday life—from cheating and crime to sports and child-rearing—and whose conclusions turn conventional wisdom on its head. Freakonomics is a groundbreaking collaboration between Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, an award-winning author and journalist. They usually begin with a mountain of data and a simple 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 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 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 Klu Klux Klan. What unites all these stories is a belief that the modern world, despite a great deal of complexity 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. 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.
Download Description
"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. "
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1540 more reviews...
 Entertaining, thought-provoking, and lacking scientific rigor July 25, 2008
While I wouldn't go so far as to relegate the book to one-star status, I completely agree some of the objections on here. I'm halfway through the book right now, and I've been repeatedly troubled with the authors' tendency to reach qualitative conclusions that go beyond their data.
That said, it's still an entertaining book. Reading it with a critical mind, questioning the authors' methods and conclusions, helps you sharpen your own understanding of statistics, causation and correlation, etc. I'm happy to have read it (well, half so far).
Number game July 24, 2008
Interestingly, the book starts off very nicely with catchy questions and a unique perspective in answering them. However, you quickly realize that the author is beating around the bush and comes back to the same question and answers. The authors are prejudiced to begin with and therefore play with numbers and carefully framed sentences to win the reader's vote. In addition, the authors dismiss other works as providing 'little evidence' while providing little/no evidence to their own work.
In short, the book is interesting and insightful but don't take it seriously.
 author admits fabrications July 20, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
The author has admitted, in print, that he has fabricated data and intentionally misrepresented statistics - especially in the abortion chapter. He justifies it by saying his intentions were good. He admitted this in an interview with Gene Epstein in the book "Econospinning."
 FREAKEN WRONG July 20, 2008
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
IF LEVITT TITLED HIS BOOK ECONOMICS 101, NO ONE WOULD BUY OR READ IT. HE SHOULD GO BACK & READ ECONOMICS 101, TO REFRESH HIS UNDERSTANDING OF IT.
FIRST, BLUE CRIME RATE GOES DOWN IN GOOD TIMES (UNDER CLINTON) & GOES UP IN BAD TIMES (UNDER REPUBILCANS). WHITE COLLAR CRIME GOES UP WITH DEREGULATION (UNDER REPUBLICANS). IT DOES DOWN WITH REGULATION & OVERSIGHTS UNDER DEMOCRATS. TO SUGGEST THAT THE INCREASE IN ABORATIONS AMONG MINORITIES CAUSES A DECREASE IN CRIME IS SOME KIND OF JOKE. FUNNY, ONLY TO LEVITT. WHEN YOU JUDGE WHITE COLLAR CRIME, VS BLUE COLLAR CRIME. WHITE COLLAR CRIME WINS HANDS DOWN WITH THE DAMMAGE TO SOCIETY. IT DISTROYES THE INTRASTRUCTURE, CREATING CHAOS IN THE FINANCIAL SECTURE WITH ITS TRICKLE DOWN EFFECT ON THE WORLD ECONOMY & MARKETS. REAGANOMICS & IT'S EXTENSION BUSHONOMICS ARE NOT RANDOM BY CHANCE PLANS. BUT A WELL PLANNED REVISION OF THE WILLIE SUTTON PLAN (ROB BANKS, BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE THE MONEY IS). THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO MILTON FREIDMAN MENTALITY SUCKS.
This book came as a complete frustration July 19, 2008
Well, I felt very enthusiastic as I started reading it. But eventually, the book appeared to have so many flaws, I don't even know where to start.
First of all, it has little or nothing to do with economics. Except, let's say the "humans respond to incentives" premise, which is not new, by any account. And you don't even have to be familiar with Mankiw's famous principles, which, by the way, are not even referenced. Second, I still don't get what is there so extraordinary and creative about Levitt's views. Don't we all understand and doesn't our personal experience prove that when it comes to mercenary objectives, self usually comes first? Haven't you ever had a chance to face a person in charge (including a teacher) who would help you out just to look better and receive some kind of a bonus, be that a praise, or a prize? And you don't even have to go through all of the boring figures and calculations to see that people (including, naturally, sumo fighters) will tend to come to arrangements, where they can give up a short term benefit for the sake of receiving a long term one, or, for what it's worth, a peer's approval.
Not to go into much more detail, I found the book outright boring and way too lengthy. It says the same thing over and over again. In fact, the authors could have made their point on 50 pages at most. At times, the book just felt like a pile of sentences overloaded with some factual statements. And yes, as the introductory part says, there is no leading, unifying theme. Which, in my opinion, did put the whole undertaking at a serious disadvantage.
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