Freakonomics summary the book takes the form of six chapters. Freakonomics questions and answers discover the community of teachers, mentors and students just like you that can answer any question you might have on freakonomics. The hidden side of everything in which the book s central idea is set forth. Freakonomics is the study of economics based on the principle of incentives. A rogue economist explores the hidden side of everything. Freakonomics a rogue economist explores the hidden. Freakonomics is a book coauthored by journalist stephen dubner and economist steven levitt that approaches economics through the lens of the principal of incentives levitt. Freakonomics the hidden side of everything freakonomics. Freakonomics a rogue economist explores the hidden side of. Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. Apr 12, 2005 freakonomics establishes this unconventional premise. Notes were sent home, making the case for timely pick up in the name of respect for those who had to stay with the children, the children themselves. Freakonomics is a 2005 nonfiction book by economist steven levitt and journalist stephen j. The movie available on netflix and hulu is chad troutwines documentary film adaptation of the phenomenally bestselling book about incentivesbased thinking by steven levitt and stephen dubner.
Freakonomics bears some striking similarities to another work of pop sociology written in the 2000s. Freakonomics summary freakonomics is a collaboration of authors steven levitt and stephen j. I really liked freakonomics and i think superfreakonomics is even better. Each week, freakonomics radio tells you things you always thought you knew but didnt and things you never thought you wanted to know but do from the economics of sleep to how to become great at just about. The jocular screen adaptation of the 2005 best seller freakonomics. Dubner have written their most revolutionary book yet. In chapter 1, freakonomics demonstrates how incentives affect human behavior. Dec 11, 2016 superfreakonomics is the followup book to the insanely popular freakonomics, published in 2009, by steven levitt and stephen j. As the authors suggested in the introduction, one reason for the sudden fall in the crime rate was the legalization of abortion in 1973. The first chapters main message is about incentives. Authors of freakonomics keynote speaker harry walker agency.
The book has been described as melding pop culture with economics. And like freakonomics, gladwells book spends a lot of time studying the decreasing crime rate of the 1990s, and the role of nature and nurture in child development. Through powerful storytelling and humorous insight, freakonomics shows that economics is, at root, the study of incentives. It covers the truth about realestate agents, the inner workings of a crack gang, the myths of campaign finance, even the secrets of. Find a summary of this and each chapter of freakonomics. Dubner explore how incentives and the laws of supply and demand are key to. In each episode, they take turns asking each other questions, with conversations ranging from friendship and parenting to immortality and whether dogs are better than people. This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of freakonomics by steven levitt. A rogue economist explores the hidden side of everything by steven d.
Dubner contents an explanatory note in which the origins of this book are clarified. Dubner, released in early october 2009 in europe and on october 20, 2009 in the united states. Through forceful storytelling and wry insight, levitt and coauthor stephen j. Apr 01, 2006 freakonomics, by steven d levitt and stephen j dubner penguin. Freakonomics is a book coauthored by journalist stephen dubner and economist steven levitt that approaches economics through the lens of the principal of incentives. Superfreakonomics is the followup book to the insanely popular freakonomics, published in 2009, by steven levitt and stephen j. Since the remarkable success of the international bestsellers freakonomics and superfreakonomics more than 5 million copies sold worldwide, its much heralded authors, steven levitt and stephen dubner, have given more than 1,000 lectures, some to audiences as large as 10,000, and are still in high demand. Check out our favorite nuggets from freakonomics below. The book is a collection of essays exploring how fundamental economic theories can be used to analyze a diverse array of social phenomena. Freakonomics by steven d levitt and stephen j dubner.
Find summaries for every chapter, including a freakonomics chapter summary chart to help you understand the book. The most aggressively revised section of the book is the beginning of chapter 2, which tells the story of one mans crusade against the ku klux klan. He begins the chapter with a questionone that might seem ludicrous at firstand then proceeds to answer it using the tools of economic analysis that are the subject of freakonomics. By the end of the chapter, this question will have been answered, and readers will be equipped with a new basis of knowledge to take with them in order to tackle the following chapters question. Freebooknotes found 11 sites with book summaries or analysis of freakonomics. Like all of their coauthored books, it takes an economic approach to whats going on in the real world, which means using statistics and hard data to find out what really drives human behavior. 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. As the book explains, economics is the study of incentives, which are ways to get people to do good rather than bad things. Like freakonomics, gladwells book uses the social sciences to study seemingly random phenomena. By late 2009, the book had sold over 4 million copies worldwide. It was published on april 12, 2005, by william morrow. In each chapter, the authors analyze a different social issue from an economic perspective. Freakonomics argues that morality represent the way wed like the world to work, whereas economics can show how the world really does work. Dubners 2005 new york times bestseller, freakonomics.
Oct 01, 2010 the jocular screen adaptation of the 2005 best seller freakonomics. Immediately download the freakonomics summary, chapterbychapter analysis, book notes, essays, quotes, character descriptions, lesson plans, and more everything you need for studying or teaching freakonomics. Global cooling, patriotic prostitutes, and why suicide bombers should buy life insurance is the second nonfiction book by university of chicago economist steven levitt and the new york times journalist stephen j. I recommend this book to anyone who reads nonfiction. From then on, each chapter centers on an unusual question. Freakonomics chapter 1 summary and analysis gradesaver. The new york times bestselling freakonomics changed the way we see the world, exposing the hidden side of just about everything. Discover the hidden side of everything with stephen j. Freakonomics establishes this unconventional premise. Freakonomics showcases how systems of incentives, information asymmetry, and other economic theories impact culture on a scale much larger than merely economic.
Stephen dubner, the host of freakonomics radio, and angela duckworth, the psychologist and author of grit, explore the weird and wonderful ways in which humans behave. This section is composed of a series of articles from the new york times magazine, including a freakonomics column that ran in the magazine from 20052006, as well as select entries from the freakonomics blog that were added to the revised and expanded 2006 edition to the book. Global cooling, patriotic prostitutes and why suicide bombers should buy life insurance author. This purpose is stated clearly in the introduction, what this book is about is stripping a layer or two from the surface of modern life and seeing what is. If morality represents how we would like the world to work, then economics represents how it actually does work. As we suggested near the beginning of this book, if morality represents an ideal world, then economics represents the actual world. We do not tend to read books about economics, or statistics. Possible ex library copy, with all the markingsstickers of that library. If youre at all interested in economics, data science, or even just popular books, its a good bet that youve heard of steven d. The authors argue that humans usually make decisions based on the incentives for their actions. Author steven levitt begins freakonomics by brushing over some of the stories, questions, and ideas he will cover in the rest of the book, such as the 1990s crime drop, information asymmetry, real estate agents, correlation vs. In the eight years since its publication, the book has spawned a sequel and even a documentary.
I also watched the movie and read its summary on blinkist. Gladwell tends to take a few ideas and illustrate them in depth with a lot of examples. Dubner and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. The authors have already discussed the effect of abortion reform on crime in the introduction to the book in order to provide a provocative leadin, probably.
The authors argue that humans usually make decisions based on. Steven levitt and stephen dubner like to cover a lot of ideas, in contrast to malcolm gladwell, whose books i like a lot too. Additionally, freakonomics has been compared to various other works of popular social science published between the 90s and the 2010s. Pages contain marginal notes, underlining, and or highlighting. Freakonomics helps you make better decisions by showing you how your life is dominated by incentives, how to close information asymmetries between you and the experts that exploit you and how to really tell the difference between causation and correlation. Thus the new field of study contained in this book. The book was published in 2005 and has somewhat become controversial for its findings. We summarized this 400page new york times bestseller into just 15 pages.
Listen to freakonomics radio stitcher exclusive episodes free, on demand. A story of regulation, stigma, and the potentially fatal faith in abstinence. Chapter one introduces the concept of incentives, which is defined as a means of urging people to do. By the end of the chapter, this question will have been. A rogue economist explores the hidden side of everything by steven levitt and stephen dubner is toyesexplore the hidden side of everything, and to dig below what is available at the surface. Freakonomics shows how the conventional wisdom is often shoddily formed. The books have made economic analysis and out of the box thinking so accessible and. Working with dan omeara and chris romano, troutwine assembled a dream team of. And like freakonomics, gladwells book spends a lot of time studying the decreasing crime rate of the 1990s, and the role of nature and. So much to learn about making good decisions in here. The book takes a novel approach to studying economics, sharing its most interesting research. In chapter 1, levitt establishes the format he will continue to use for the duration of the book.
Accessories such as cd, codes, toys, and dust jackets may not be included. With their trademark blend of captivating storytelling and unconventional analysis, they take us inside their thought process and offer a blueprint. Freakonomics is a book coauthored by journalist stephen dubner and economist steven levitt that approaches economics through the lens of. Freakonomics is one of the best books on human psychology ive ever read. It is how people get what they want or need, mainly when other people want the same thing. Freakonomics study guide literature guide litcharts. Its what made freakonomics an instant bestseller, and why the sometimescontroversial conclusions its authors draw are still debated today. A rogue economist explores the hidden side of everything is the debut nonfiction book by university of chicago economist steven levitt and new york times journalist stephen j. If there is a freakonomics sparknotes, shmoop guide, or cliff notes, you can find a link to each study guide below. The film examines human behavior through consistently provocative and often hilarious case studies. It is true that readers of this book will be armed with enough riddles and stories to last a thousand cocktail parties.
The first and longest chapter focuses on the role of incentives in human behavior. Dubner, journalists and winners of numerous awards. This book has the same lifechanging capability the paradox of choice does. Immediately download the freakonomics summary, chapterbychapter analysis, book notes, essays, quotes, character descriptions, lesson plans, and more everything you need for. Freakonomics freakonomics a rogue economist explores the hidden side of everything steven d. Freakonomics by steven levitt plot summary litcharts. Challenging the way we look at the works bill gates.