Just returned from a trip to Washington D.C., and finished one of the more interesting books on economics. The authors of Freakonomics disclaim any unifying theme to their book, and the title isn’t much help either, but here’s how I’d summarize it.
The book looks at various social trends such as the large drop in crime rate in the US from the 1980′s to 2000, causes for child success and reexamines some of the causes for these events. It shows that how some commonly-held views are not backed by analytical or statistical data and that better insight may be gleaned from understanding the incentives behind the behaviour or trend.
The man behind these ideas is Steven Levitt, who digs up all kinds of surprising and fascinating truths that makes this such an interesting book. His insight is backed with well-documented end notes and well so because some of his conclusions are quite unconventional (especially around the link between legalized abortion and crime rates).
The book weighs in at only 200 pages and is well worth the time.
0 Responses to “Freakonomics: A Fresh Look at Conventional Wisdom”