Mon, 01 May 2006
Freakonomics
Steven D. Levitt, Stephen J. Dubner Freakonomics,
Penguin
Now out in paperback, this best-selling book entertains
by looking beyond the obvious. Freakonomics isn't a discipline
and the cases in the book have only one thing in common -- a
search for hidden truth looking beyond conventional wisdom.
One of the cases is the recent fall in the US crime rate.
Was this due to clever police and clever politicians? Was
it due to economic factors? Levitt's conclusion was that it was
due to Roe vs Wade which made abortions widely available and
as a result many would-be criminals just weren't born. What
the implications are for somewhere like the UK where a
single mother might use a baby to get state supplied housing
are easy to figure out. Needless to say Right-to-Lifers and
conservative Christians haven't liked Levitt's explanation one bit.
It is a fun book with nice demonstrations of braininess
at work.
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pre Dec 04 reviews are here