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Freakonomics [Revised and Expanded]: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything
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Freakonomics [Revised and Expanded]: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything description
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 ... review details
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Freakonomics [Revised and Expanded]: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything Customer Reviews
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♥♥♥♥♥ |
Some interesting ideas, but very thin
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This book attempts to explain how the study of the influence of incentives upon behavior can be applied to questions of human behavior that are not strictly financial. He has some interesting ideas, and his methods are usually sound and persuasive, if not absolutely convincing. Probably the most eye-opening and controversial topic in the book is his conclusion that the primary explanation for the decrease in crime over the last fifteen years or so was the legalization of abortion. His reasoning is that unwanted children commit more crimes, and that the legalization of abortion meant fewer unwanted children. He does a good job of demonstrating that most of the standard alternate explanations for the decrease in crime don't hold water, and his thesis is in this case (like the others) is persuasive, regardless of how it might violate anyone's ideology.
But there just isn't very much material in this book. There are only six topics discussed, of which the link between abortion and crime is one. Another of the six is the influence of people's first names on their ultimate economic or educational success - and after about 30 pages, he comes to the conclusion that there is no link!
After only 191 pages, the book is padded with "Bonus material," which begins with an almost embarrassing puff piece that co-author Dubner wrote about Levitt when he first met and interviewed him. The rest of the "Bonus material" is a collection of columns and blogs written by Levitt, and a large portion of it covers the same topics that were covered in the 191 pages of the book proper.
There just isn't much substance here. I read the entire book on a non-stop flight from Nashville to Las Vegas, and still had time for a nap. It's a mildly diverting read, but not particularly thought-provoking, and certainly not challenging, for the intelligent reader. |
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