Freakonomics – The secret economy of everything
I’ve decided to start a new thread on Queercents where I review business books. I’ve decided that these books could fall into a few categories, including productivity, advice, retirement, economics, taxes, etc’¦
Fortunately, I have always been a fan of these types of books and I have plenty of them lying around the house. I’m also always open to reviewing a book that you may recommend, so please let me know.
‘œMorality, it could be argued, represents the way that people would like the world to work ‘“ whereas economics represents how it actually does work’ – Freakonomics
I have had Freakonomics on my reading list for quite some time. The book seemed interesting when I first learned of it a few years back. I finally had a chance to read it and I was generally impressed.
Freakonomics was co-written by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner. Levitt is an economist and teaches at the University of Chicago, while Dunber lives in New York and is a Journalist.
If there were one general theme in the book it is that you should have an open mind when you try to confront problem solving. The authors can take two seemingly unrelated topics and walk you through a concise and easy to understand journey to help you see the world through their minds.
One such journey, that is still being discussed, is the theory that Roe vs Wade caused a decline in the crime rate about 20 years later. As they walk you through this theory, you come to understand that they may be on to something. To paraphrase, the theory discusses how woman who is ‘œforced’ to have her children at an earlier age in her life may pass on an ‘œunworthiness’ feeling that could eventually lead that child to a life of crime. Whereas when a woman has a choice, she tends to delay the start of her family to a time where she knows that she can support them.
It makes you wonder, doesn’t it?
Since the book deserves a reading, I don’t want to give away each case. However, the authors tackle issues such as:
- Does a realtor really have your best interest in mind when they list your home?
- Can a child’s name direct the child’s future?
- Do school choice programs churn out better students?
- Why do most drug dealers still live at home?
and
- What makes a perfect parent? ‘“ “In a study by the Colorado Adoption project, same-sex parents had no correlation to a child’s personality traits.”
By bringing economy into these subjects, the authors open your mind to a new way of looking at things. The book gave me a few ideas of my own. Perhaps in a world of marriage equality, we will see adoption rates skyrocket. Or perhaps one unintended consequence of the AIDS epidemic was a strong focus on equal rights. Could AIDS have caused gay marriage? Only an economist can tell for sure.
Where do you think we have seen unintended consequences in everyday life?
Phil: I enjoyed this book as well. These guys always make me think… for example: “What do a gym membership, a bottle of prescription pills and a holiday gift card have in common?†Click here for the answer.
I liked this book to. I actually think it was stronger on the “these things don’t have the effects you think they do” side than the other. It’s much harder to prove causality, although pretty interesting.
The economics of drug dealing is also pretty illuminating, and it bears a remarkable similarity to the economics of websites.
That is true. My statistics professor would be upset with me.
The authors do remind us about the difficulty of proving causality. Thanks for the reminder.
On the fat acceptance blogs I hang out on, there is always great discussion on how “correlation does not necessarily equal causation.” I suspect my reading this book would have me always screaming in my head over and over. Not in a good way either.
I loved Freakonomics. Did you know that the author has a popular blog? It’s not as good as the book, but still pretty cool.
Thanks AJ. I should have pointed that out a little stronger. One of my “Freakanomics” links actually heads over to his blog. I haven’t spent much time there, but I plan to add it to my ever growing list.