Jeff Hirsh Read: June 2020
Inspiration: What makes this book so popular in academia and public economics discourse?
Summary
Written with the help of ChatGPT, below is a brief summary to understand what is covered in the book.
“Freakonomics”, published in 2005 by economist Steven Levitt and journalist Stephen Dubner, uses economic principles to explore and explain various phenomena in society. The book is divided into several chapters, each of which looks at a different topic and uses economic analysis to shed light on it. Some of the topics covered in the book include crime, education, real estate, and parenting. Throughout the book, the authors use data and statistical analysis to challenge conventional wisdom and to offer surprising insights into how the world works. They also use anecdotes and case studies to illustrate their points and to make their arguments more engaging and accessible. Overall, “Freakonomics” is a thought-provoking and entertaining look at the world and how it is shaped by economic forces.
Unedited Notes
Direct from my original book log, below are my unedited notes (abbreviations and misspellings included) to show how I take notes as I read.
***Disclaimer: notes taken before realizing I needed better notes
Abortion single biggest crime mitigator in American history (1973 Roe v Wade), 1980 peak abortion rates (common for single AfAm mothers, poor, low edu), 1990s see huge unexp crime drop b/c kids most likely to be criminals not born (not due to policing, economy, etc), Info asymmetry drives misalignment (e.g. real estate, KKK), publicize info=reduce asymmetry, Who parents are is more influential than what parents do (obsessive parenting often not pay)
