Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything
By Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner

ISBN: 006073132X
Format: Hardcover, 242pp
Pub. Date: April 2005
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers

Hardcover, April 2005
Barnes & Noble price: $15.57

FROM THE PUBLISHER
Steven D. Levitt and co-author Stephen J. 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 set out to 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.

FROM THE CRITICS
Jim Holt - The New York York Times
Economists can seem a little arrogant at times. They have a set of techniques and habits of thought that they regard as more ''rigorous'' than those of other social scientists. When they are successful -- one thinks of Amartya Sen's important work on the causes of famines, or Gary Becker's theory of marriage and rational behavior -- the result gets called economics. It might appear presumptuous of Steven Levitt to see himself as an all-purpose intellectual detective, fit to take on whatever puzzle of human behavior grabs his fancy. But on the evidence of Freakonomics, the presumption is earned.

Publishers Weekly
Forget your image of an economist as a crusty professor worried about fluctuating interest rates: Levitt focuses his attention on more intimate real-world issues, like whether reading to your baby will make her a better student. Recognition by fellow economists as one of the best young minds in his field led to a profile in the New York Times, written by Dubner, and that original article serves as a broad outline for an expanded look at Levitt's search for the hidden incentives behind all sorts of behavior. There isn't really a grand theory of everything here, except perhaps the suggestion that self-styled experts have a vested interest in promoting conventional wisdom even when it's wrong. Instead, Dubner and Levitt deconstruct everything from the organizational structure of drug-dealing gangs to baby-naming patterns. While some chapters might seem frivolous, others touch on more serious issues, including a detailed look at Levitt's controversial linkage between the legalization of abortion and a reduced crime rate two decades later. Underlying all these research subjects is a belief that complex phenomena can be understood if we find the right perspective. Levitt has a knack for making that principle relevant to our daily lives, which could make this book a hit. Malcolm Gladwell blurbs that Levitt has the most interesting mind in America, an invitation Gladwell's own substantial fan base will find hard to resist. 50-city radio campaign. (May 1) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal
While drug dealers, violent criminals, and the Ku Klux Klan may be outside the purview of most economists, they fit quite comfortably into Levitt's world. The University of Chicago professor and Clark Medal winner (awarded to promising economists under 40) presents the commonplace and examines it more closely. Levitt cleverly shows us that schoolteachers and sumo wrestlers have more in common than we think (both have been shown to cheat in various ways to further their interests). And he demonstrates how groups trusted by their constituents, like realtors and even the Ku Klux Klan, take advantage of information asymmetry to manipulate their respective "markets." This is also your best chance to wrestle with such metaphysical questions as why drug dealers still live with their mothers. Levitt has kindly forewarned us that there is no unifying theme behind his thought-he just sees things differently from his peers. Levitt's analysis and Dubner's (Turbulent Souls; Confessions of a Hero-Worshipper) fluid prose make this foray into freakonomics a recommended addition to public and academic library economics collections. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 1/05.]-Carol J. Elsen, Univ. of Wisconsin, Whitewater Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews
Why do drug dealers live at home? Levitt (Economics/Univ. of Chicago) and Dubner (Confessions of a Hero Worshiper, 2003, etc.), who profiled Levitt for the New York Times, team up to demolish conventional wisdom. To call Levitt a "rogue economist" may be a tad hyperbolic. Certainly this epitome of antistyle ("his appearance is High Nerd: a plaid button-down shirt, nondescript khakis and a braided belt, brown sensible shoes") views the workaday world with different eyes; the young economist teases out meaning from juxtapositions that simply would not occur to other researchers. Consider this, for instance: in the mid-1990s, just when the Clinton administration projected it was about to skyrocket, crime in the U.S. fell markedly. And why? Because, Levitt hazarded a few years ago, of the emergent effects of the Roe v. Wade decision: legalized abortion prevented the births of millions of poor people who, beset by social adversity, were "much more likely than average to become criminals." The suggestion, Dubner writes, "managed to offend just about everyone," conservative and liberal alike, but it had high explanatory value. Levitt hasn't shied away from controversy in other realms, either, preferring to let the numbers speak for themselves: a young man named Jake will earn more job interviews than one with the same credentials named DeShawn; the TV game show The Weakest Link, like society as a whole, discriminates against the elderly and Hispanics; it is human nature to cheat, and the higher up in the organization a person rises, the more likely it is that he or she will cheat. Oh, yes, and street-level drug dealers live at home with their moms because they have to; most earn well belowminimum wage but accept the bad pay and dangerous conditions to get a shot at the big time, playing in what in effect is a tournament. "A crack gang works pretty much like the standard capitalist enterprise," Levitt and Dubner write, "you have to be near the top of the pyramid to make a big wage." An eye-opening, and most interesting, approach to the world.

CUSTOMER REVIEWS
Vicki (littlequeenie29@msn.com), A reviewer, May 24, 2005,
Not just for economists
I was pleasantly surprised when I started reading this book. After 2 years of economics in college, I was not expecting anything entertaining, to say the least. But boy was I wrong. This book looks at questions that we have all wondered at some point but never asked. It is fun to read and will keep your interest for hours.

A reviewer, a lover of books, May 24, 2005,
Take a Wild Ride on the Freaky Side!
This is a great book for anyone interested in pondering the 'other side' of economics. The author sucks you into his take on things. Makes for great conversation with friends and family.

Scully, Lost in Translation, May 24, 2005,
Interesting and Entertaining
The title really says it all with this one. I found the book to be interesting and entertaining. I didn't agree with all the theories presented, but I enjoyed reading them. I know nothing about economics and this book wasn't about economics - well, if it was, I certianly didn't realize that economics were so interesting.

Admiringly critical, a former econ student&future lawyer, May 9, 2005,
Revelations?! only if you had on those peripheral vision shields like those on horses... know what i mean?
while interesting, the subject matter of this book is not sublime, the questions are not revolutionary and the 'answers' are soooo not comprehensive. though a contribution is likely, to claim that crime went down simply because of abortion is silly. and duh swimming pools are 'more dangerous' if you look at data collected from past incidences. but you cannot claim this to be true of the inherent/accidental potential for danger of a swimming pool compared to a gun. this book seems to ignore that probability is only predictive if circumstances are equal. and that sometimes a name might carry significance beyond where it can get you in life. but perhaps that one is more than what can expected of educated white men. Still... fun reading, great cover. And I'm sure levitt's classes are more intellectually engaging than this book. ah! one more thing: drug dealers live at home because 'Gator boots, with the pimped out gucci suit/ Ain't got no job, but I stay sharp/ Can't pay my rent, cause all my money's spent/ But thats ok, cause I'm still fly/ Got a quarter tank gas in my new e-class/ But that's alright cause I'm gon' ride/ Got everything in my moma's name/ But I'm hood rich da dada dada da' - Still Fly by Big Tymers
Also recommended: The Great Unraveling - Paul Krugman; The World is Flat - Thomas Friedman; anything by Al Franken supplemented with anything by Ann Coulter

Jack Romine, A reviewer, May 9, 2005,
Great book!
The authors do an amazing job of taking a creative and thought-provoking slant on otherwise mudane stuff. Kind of hard to describe but you'll never see the world the same after reading it.
Also recommended: The Emotional Intelligence Quick Book was awesome as well.