Freakonomics (Penguin Celebrations)

This is not only about economics, it is about common aspects of life, like crime and cheating. The book contains several examples of how a brilliant researcher was able to shed light on these issues. The author acts like a detective, with a bottom-up approach, relying on statistical data analysis, and often based on the role of incentives in human behaviour. The abortion case stands aside and is, in my view, revelatory. Although apparently based on a syllogism, the conclusion put forward by Levitt, regarding abortion and crime rates, is nevertheless very convincing. Other cases, like the names assigned to child by parents, are not extraordinarely fascinating, but the pattern is the same: find the explaining thread in human behaviour. A good book for students in economics and social sciences in general, a intruigueing reading for all. At the same time, there are many other good micro-economists and statisticians out there who have written papers or books using a similar approach, but who are not so notorious.

Interesting questions interestingly answered (1/1 people found this helpful)

I ignored this book when it was first published, but turned to the revised version recently in the hope that it would give me some insight into mainstream economics, (having recently started a course in business economics). It hasn't been a great help for that purpose, but is a great - and easy - read all the same. I found it particularly illuminating to see how an economist looks beyond correlations to seek causation. For example, in what is probably his most controversial chapter, Levitt identifies the effective legalisation of abortion in the US in 1973 as being the cause of a fall in the crime rate 15 - 20 years later. Having established this correlation, and posited an explanation - access to abortion meant that a whole cohort of kids that would have been most likely to grow up to become criminals were not in fact born at all - he searches for ways to test it. He did so by looking at those states where abortion had already been legal, by establishing correlations between abortion rates and the subsequent fall in crime rates and by identifying that the fall in crime happened amongst the late teens rather than older age groups.

Levitt and Dubner were clearly aware of the potential distaste that this deduction might bring, but presented their findings clearly and courageously. Other areas of study include the identification of cheating teachers and Sumo wrestlers, the economics of dealing in crack cocaine and whether (pushy) parents can actively influence the success of their children. In many cases, however, and particularly while reading a chapter on parents' choice of names for their children, I did wonder whether the same conclusions would be made on the British side of the Atlantic.

The revised (2006) edition includes some material not included in the first edition, including forty pages of material from the Freakanomics blog, as well as clarifications and revisions.

As to whether this is a truly a radical use of the science of economics, however, I know not - it may well be that other have analysed data of this type in similar ways in the past. Nonetheless, Levitt and Dubner ask - and answer - some interesting questions, and if economics is not routinely used in this way perhaps it should be.

Didn't really get it (3/9 people found this helpful)

I'm afraid I didn't find this book terribly controversial, illuminating or, unfortunately, particularly interesting. I'm not certain but it maybe this is because I have a passing appreciation for the nature of statistics and wasn't therefore too shocked by the conclusions that were arrived at. Perhaps I missed something but I didn't really get the hype surrounding this book.

Steven D. Levitt, Stephen J. Dubner

Reader Reviews:

Anti-conventional wisdom (0/0 people found this helpful)

Interesting questions interestingly answered (1/1 people found this helpful)

Didn't really get it (3/9 people found this helpful)

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