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

Levitt, Steven D.; Dubner, Stephen J

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0061245135 ISBN 13: 9780061245138

Publisher: WmMorrow, 2006

Synopsis

One of the greatest young American thinkers offers his provocative and intriguing insights into basic life issues—from cheating to child rearing—in this highly readable and challenging new work

Which is more dangerous, a gun or a swimming pool? Which should be feared more: snakes or french fries? Who really deserves credit for the recent drop in crime? In this groundbreaking book, leading economist Steven Levitt—Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago and winner of the American Economic Association’s 2004 John Bates Clark medal for the economist under 40 who has made the greatest contribution to the discipline—reveals that the answers to such questions lie in economic theory, a field he is revolutionizing. Joined by acclaimed author Stephen J. Dubner, Levitt offers his most compelling ideas as he explores the basic questions of everyday life, reaching conclusions that have turned conventional wisdom on its head.

Brilliantly reasoned, told in compelling, forthright language, and filled with keen insight, What Do Schoolteachers and Sumo Wrestlers Have in Common? remind us that economics is ultimately the study of incentives and competition—how people get what they want, or need, when others want or need the same thing.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

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 economist 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 Ku 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.

About the Author:

Steven D. Levitt, a professor of economics at the University of Chicago, was awarded the John Bates Clark Medal, given to the most influential American economist under forty. He is also a founder of The Greatest Good, which applies Freakonomics-style thinking to business and philanthropy.

Stephen J. Dubner, an award-winning journalist and radio and TV personality, has worked for the New York Times and published three non-Freakonomics books. He is the host of Freakonomics Radio and Tell Me Something I Don't Know.

Stephen J. Dubner is an award-winning author, journalist, and radio and TV personality. He quit his first career—as an almost rock star—to become a writer. He has since taught English at Columbia, worked for The New York Times, and published three non-Freakonomics books.

About this edition

• Publisher: WmMorrow
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0061245135
• ISBN 13: 9780061245138
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 476