Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything

levitt (economics, U. Of Chicago) And Writing Collaborator Dubner (a Writer For The New York Times And The New Yorker) Dub The Material In This Work Freakonomics Because Levitt Uses Analytical Tools From Economics To Address A Range Of Questions That, At First Glance, Might Seem To Be Far Removed From The Discipline Of The Dismal Science. They Consider Questions Such As How To Determine If Teachers Are Aiding In Students' Cheating On Standardized Tests, The Impact Of Information Asymmetry On The Operation Of The Ku Klux Klan, How The Organizational Structure Of Crack Gangs Resemble Other Businesses, And The Influence Of Parents On Child Development. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, Or

the New York York Times - Jim Holt

economists Can Seem A Little Arrogant At Times. They Have A Set Of Techniques And Habits Of Thought That They Regard As More ''rigorous'' Than Those Of Other Social Scientists. When They Are Successful -- One Thinks Of Amartya Sen's Important Work On The Causes Of Famines, Or Gary Becker's Theory Of Marriage And Rational Behavior -- The Result Gets Called Economics. It Might Appear Presumptuous Of Steven Levitt To See Himself As An All-purpose Intellectual Detective, Fit To Take On Whatever Puzzle Of Human Behavior Grabs His Fancy. But On The Evidence Of freakonomics, The Presumption Is Earned.