Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

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 change some minds. In Freakonomics (written with Stephen J. Dubner), Levitt argues that many apparent mysteries of everyday life don't need to be so mysterious: they could be illuminated and made even more fascinating by asking the right questions and drawing connections. For example, Levitt traces the drop in violent crime rates to a drop in violent criminals and, digging further, to the Roe v. Wade decision that preempted the existence of some people who would be born to poverty and hardship. Elsewhere, by analyzing data gathered from inner-city Chicago drug-dealing gangs, Levitt outlines a corporate structure much like McDonald's, where the top bosses make great money while scores of underlings make something below minimum wage. And in a section that may alarm or relieve worried parents, Levitt argues that parenting methods don't really matter much and that a backyard swimming pool is much more dangerous than a gun. These enlightening chapters are separated by effusive passages from Dubner's 2003 profile of Levitt in The New York Times Magazine, which led to the book being written. In a book filled with bold logic, such back-patting veers Freakonomics, however briefly, away from what Levitt actually has to say. Although maybe there's a good economic reason for that too, and we're just not getting it yet. --John Moe -- Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine vergriffene oder nicht verfügbare Ausgabe dieses Titels.

Award-winning economist Levitt and journalist Dubner join forces to strip a layer or two from the surface of modern life and see what is happening underneath. The authors' worldview as they explore the hidden side of many issues is based on a few fundamentals--among them, incentives are the cornerstone of modern life, and conventional wisdom is often wrong. They look at many different scenarios in a treasure-hunt approach, employing the best economic analytical tools but also following any freakish curiosities that they encounter--hence the study of Freakonomics. They evaluate intriguing questions such as "What do Schoolteachers and Sumo Wrestlers Have in Common?" "How is the Ku Klux Klan Like a Group of Real Estate Agents?" "Where Have All the Criminals Gone?" and "What Makes a Perfect Parent?" We are counseled to think sensibly about how people behave in the real world and to ask a lot of questions. This excellent, readable book will enlighten many library patrons. Mary Whaley
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How can your name affect how well you do in life? What do estate agents and the Ku Klux Klan have in common? Why do drug dealers live with their mothers? The answer: Freakonomics. It’s at the heart of everything we do and the things that affect us daily: from sex to crime, parenting to politics, fat to cheating, fear to traffic jams. And we can use it to get to the heart of what’s really happening under the surface of everyday life. This cult bestseller will show you how, by unravelling your life’s secret codes, you can discover a totally new way of seeing the world.

Steven Levitt, geb. 1967 in Boston, zeichnete sich schon während seines Studiums der Wirtschaftswissenschaften in Harvard durch sein unkonventionelles Denken aus. Seit 1999 hält Levitt eine Professur an der University of Chicago und ist Herausgeber des 'Journal of Political Economy'.Stephen J. Dubner hat von 1994 bis 1999 als Herausgeber und Journalist für das 'New York Times Magazine' gearbeitet. Heute schreibt Dubner free lance u.a. für den New Yorker, die Washington Post und Time.