Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everythingby Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
William Morrow Publishers, 2005

As A Beautiful Mind proved, there is money to be made in humanizing genius -- even genius primarily concerned with the drollest of subjects. For decades the public intellectual has stoked curiosity and inspired -- think John Kenneth Galbraith, Susan Sontag, or Gore Vidal -- and in the new bestseller, Freakonomics, journalist Stephen J. Dubner turns in the most recent attempt to popularize both a groundbreaking mind and an oft-ignored subject matter.

Freakonomics has three primary subjects -- economist Steven Levitt, his maverick brand of economics, and the elements of human life he explains -- and it must be approached for what it is: An introductory work for average folks who have never cracked an economics textbook much less concerned themselves with the subtleties of Adam Smith, Gary Becker, or Milton Friedman.

The discussions of economic principles are fundamental and repetitive. With bulldog tenacity, Dubner hammers home a few basic concepts: incentives matter, actions have consequences (sometimes unintended), and economics, at least the kind practiced by Levitt, is a descriptive rather than prescriptive science. Econometrics, as a statistical method, is briefly introduced, and a few terms ("correlation," "causation," etc.) are defined. Still the rhetoric never passes a ninth-grade reading level and the discussion never ascends into anything like a dense or complex academic discourse.

This book is defined by its interesting questions: "How is the Ku Klux Klan like a group of real estate agents?" "What makes a perfect parent?" And, "If drug dealers make so much money, why do they still live with their moms?"

Things really heat up, however, when Dubner explores the ways the statistical and logical tools of economics can explain the fundamentals of human behavior. Levitt has always been an interesting academic, almost "freakishly" concerned with the criminal and immoral side of human behavior; and, as Dubner notes, the book is defined by its interesting questions: "How is the Ku Klux Klan like a group of real estate agents?"; "What makes a perfect parent?"; and "If drug dealers make so much money, why do they still live with their moms?"

In the course of answering these questions, Dubner presents answers clearly and employs narrative and analogy to enliven and enlighten. His section on the economics of crack cocaine is woven carefully around the story of his friend's adventures as a street gang tag-along. His discussion of cheating in Sumo wrestling is electrified by stories of mob hits and media frenzies, and his econometric analysis of perfect parenting is dotted with deeply personal asides. He is perhaps the only economist to theorize about superman and the Ku Klux Klan in the same sentence. Everywhere a conventional economics text might get dry, Freakonomics gets, well, "freaky."

Finally, perhaps the most appealing aspect of Freakonomics is Dubner's sympathetic and warm portrayal of Levitt himself -- a driven intellectual who spurns ideology and loves his work, a loving husband and parent, a delightful shock to the sometimes calcified academic establishment, and a consistently pleasant colleague and friend.

The University of Chicago economist is an irresistible eccentric: We see him driving a beat up old car and envying the headphones of a homeless man. And in the chapter on perfect parenting we learn of Levitt's own personal tragedy -- the loss of his one-year-old son to meningitis -- and the friendships and work that tragedy inspired. Levitt's personality shines through his work, and the reader benefits from seeing this "softer" side.

Freakonomics is a lightning fast read and a warm introduction to a groundbreaking academic. Yet for students of economics it will be relatively unsurprising, and for non-economists its conclusions will often seem somewhat intuitive. But at just over 200 pages it is a worthy addition to any bookshelf and a preliminary glimpse into the future of a beautiful and inquisitive mind.

About the Author


Dr. Steven Levitt is a Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago. He is a Research Fellow at the American Bar Foundation, Faculty Research Fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research, and Editor of the Journal of Political Economy. Dr. Levitt has studied various aspects of crime and criminality including the impact of police and prisons on crime, the economics of gangs, the juvenile justice system, and the link between legalized abortion and crime. Read Dr. Steven Levitt's Web Blog.

Stephen J. Dubner was a writer and editor for The New York Times Magazine from 1994 to 1999, and remains a regular contributor there. He has also written for The New Yorker, Time, New York Magazine and The Washington Post, and has been a PBS correspondent. He received an M.F.A. in Writing from Columbia University, where he also taught in the English Department. During his undergraduate years, at Appalachian State University in North Carolina, he started a rock band, The Right Profile, which was signed to Arista Records. Stephen J. Dubner is also the author of the national best-seller Turbulent Souls: A Catholic Son's Return to His Jewish Family and Confessions of a Hero-Worshiper (January 2003, William Morrow/HarperCollins).

John Coleman is a strategy and management consultant in Atlanta, GA. Reprinted with permission from Townhall.com.

To read another perspective on Freakonomics, see Top Ten Favorite Economic Principles.

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