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keilexandraFreakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything
by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
320 pages (hardcover)
Genre: Nonfiction/Economics
This is the 2nd revised and expanded edition--I found the blog and newspaper clippings interesting but awkwardly disconnected in a way that the original book chapters were not. As it was an assigned text, I had some interesting discussions around Levitt's controversial theories (the abortion-crime correlation was surprisingly cool on the outrage scale). I also appreciated the data on race, regarding both education gaps and "ethnic" baby names. Levitt says that after adjusting for socioeconomic status, the black-white education gap disappears--which would make sense, given the dismal education statistics of low-income African-Americans/Latin@s--but I was intrigued by the fact that the disparity disappeared entirely (at least to statistical insignificance) rather than just decreasing.
Like the subtitle implies and the authors admit outright, this book has no overriding theme. Levitt definitely has a spark of brilliance, though, and his ideas are well worth reading.
by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
320 pages (hardcover)
Genre: Nonfiction/Economics
This is the 2nd revised and expanded edition--I found the blog and newspaper clippings interesting but awkwardly disconnected in a way that the original book chapters were not. As it was an assigned text, I had some interesting discussions around Levitt's controversial theories (the abortion-crime correlation was surprisingly cool on the outrage scale). I also appreciated the data on race, regarding both education gaps and "ethnic" baby names. Levitt says that after adjusting for socioeconomic status, the black-white education gap disappears--which would make sense, given the dismal education statistics of low-income African-Americans/Latin@s--but I was intrigued by the fact that the disparity disappeared entirely (at least to statistical insignificance) rather than just decreasing.
Like the subtitle implies and the authors admit outright, this book has no overriding theme. Levitt definitely has a spark of brilliance, though, and his ideas are well worth reading.