Books : Freakonomics [Revised and Expanded]: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything

Rating: - Freakonomics vs. Freedomnomics
Do you think economics is boring? Do you struggle to understand economic principles? If you answered yes to either question, then check out Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner. These two economists apply their knowledge to such a wide variety of subjects that it is hard to keep up.

For example, did you ever wonder why drug dealers live with their moms or what schoolteachers and sumo wrestlers have in common? Levitt and Dubner address these and other equally unusual topics. By applying well-known, basic economic principles to unique circumstances, the authors help readers better appreciate the complex world of money matters. You'll have so much fun reading this book that you won't even realize you're learning something about economics.

Considering the success of Freakonomics (it reached the number two spot on the New York Times nonfiction bestseller list), it is not surprising that Freedomnomics: Why the Free Market Works and Other Half-Baked Theories Don't by John R. Lott, Jr. was published a short time later. Freedomnomics, as the front cover tells us, is a rebuttal to Freakonomics and more. Although not as popular or as well written, Freedomnomics scored points with me because I am a firm believer in capitalism and the free market society. I also found some of Lott's economic research to be intriguing. For instance, in the chapter on women's suffrage and the growth of government, Lott tracks changes in government spending both before and after women finally obtained the right to vote.

Freedomnomics does not rehash all of Levitt and Dubner's material, but it does attempt a point-counterpoint on several topics, including abortion and crime in the United States. Read both books and make your own decision about who is right and who is wrong.

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Rating: - Conventional Wisdom v. Levitt
In The Affluent Society, economist John Kenneth Galbraith wrote that new ideas "need to be tested" against the "inertia and resistance" of "conventional wisdom." That is: what everyone KNOWS TO BE TRUE may, in fact, not be true at all. The problem wrote Galbraith, is "We associate truth with convenience - with what most closely accords with self-interest and personal well-being or promises best to avoid awkward effort or unwelcome, dislocation of life. ... Therefore, we adhere, as though to a raft, to those ideas which represent our understanding" - even if our understanding is limited at best.

"Conventional wisdom," adds fellow economist, Steven D. Levitt in Freakonomics [ - thought I'd never get there, didn't you!? - ] is often shoddily formed and devilishly difficult to see through, but it can be done." He continues: "It would be silly to argue that the conventional wisdom is NEVER true. But noticing where the conventional wisdom may be false - noticing, perhaps the contrails of slopping or self-interested thinking - is a nice place to start asking questions."" See: Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game a "true story" in the spirit of Freakaonmics. What's it about? 1. Questioning ASSUMPTIONS, and 2. seeing through them in order to 3) arrive at winning results.

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Rating: - Freakish curiosities and economic data...
Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, is a most unusual and fascinating book--co-written by an economist and a journalist.

Freakonomics does not have a unifying theme. But what the authors attempt to do is to strip "a layer or two from the surface of modern life and" see "what is happening underneath." They look upon this book as a "sort of treasure-hunt," combining economic analytical tools with "freakish curiosities." Thus the name, Freakonomics.


Freakonomics covers an array of diverse topics including cheating and incentives, teachers and sumo wrestlers, drug dealers and criminals, Ku Klux Klan members and real estate agents and parenting. The authors discuss how increased information has brought down the Ku Klux Klan, and lowered the prices of term life insurance and burial caskets. Much of the book is used to dispel myths. For instance, most drug dealers aren't making big bucks and often still live with their moms. Or that the dramatic drop in crime in the 1990s can be attributed to the passage of legalized abortion in the 1970s as a result of Roe vs. Wade.

One chapter that I found especially interesting was "Would a Roshanda by Any Other Name Smell as Sweet?" The authors track trends in naming babies over the last 50 years. Popular names tend to start with the upper classes and filter down over time. My own name, Cynthia, was the 5th most popular name in 1960. Today, mothers who name their daughters Cindy tend to be lower class and haven't completed a high school education. Levitt and Dubner also investigate the popularity of predominantly black names, and how they might be indicators of success or failure.

I never found economics to be that interesting or enjoyable. Too bad that I never had a professor with the talents of Steven Levitt or I might have had a completely different opinion of this often dry subject.

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Rating: - Fun beach read reading, but no dazzle...
The cover promises "Prepare to be dazzled" and I expected so much more. This is a very thin book (double spaced & wide margins, 200 pages in total) and can be read in one day at the beach. You can find some interesting statistics, for example which words work best in real estate ads. But by no means should this book be categorized in Popular Economics on Amazon. Save your money and check out this book from your local library.

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Rating: - Review for Freakanomics
Great book! The authors made economic topics relevant to social situations, some of which I am able to use in my classroom to highlight some key ideas about economics. It's not a boring economics book, it's a nice read that keeps you wanting to turn the page!