Customer Reviews
1 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
 Entertaining but less about economics than observation, Apr 28, 2023
In this book the authors -- I'm not sure if there is one or two -- take a pop culture view of economics and discuss reasons why certain things happen in the world. They base this pop culture thesis on the philosophy that morality is the way we are supposed to act and economics describes how we really act.
They suggest that economics in the free market, as defined by Adam Smith, is based on incentives. They describe many conditions where incentives lead to good and bad human outcomes and try to explain why this happens. Often, as their explanation about why crime went down during the 1990s, their explanation seems supra-economic and more mystical than scientific.
In addition, some discussions exclude important variables. In a discussion on why sumo wrestlers cheat, the authors show a misunderstanding of competition in Japan. Unlike Americans, Japanese believe the best outcome is a tie. They are not driven to success like Americans, who believe it is best to drive your opponent into the earth, if necessary, to win. Japanese believe even the vanquished opponent deserves respect.
The authors use economic theory to show why sumo wrestlers cheat and use what are essentially negative incentives to help others catch up. They use an example where wrestlers with a 7-7 record somehow regularlay defeat wrestlers with an 8-6 record when having a winning record results an incentive payment.
They conclude that this happens -- in part with testimonials from sumo wrestlers -- because the incentive is strong for the 7-7 wrestlers and weak for the 8-6 wrestlers, who make a deal with their lesser counterparts to stratch each others backs ... in other words, I help you now, you help me later. The whole industry is riddled with cheats, say the authors.
Why doesn't this translate? Because in Japan the 8-6 wrestler's principal moral motivation is for his 7-7 counterpart to catch up. He doesn't need to cheat to do this because it is the ethos of sports he has learned all his life growing up. This variable is not included in the discussion.
Elsewhere this book is a lot of fun and delves into all those subjects other reviewers have discussed. Still, with only this one gaping hole in the authors logic, I wonder how many of the other subjects discussed here have the level of merit this book has gathered from its supporters in the popular press.
I enjoyed reading this book -- it's the first book about economics I've read since "Economics in Plain Language" about 30 years ago -- but I don't think it is quite the phenomenon its supporters purport it to be. It's a fun read with economic theory applied to a lot of stuff that is generally defined in purely social science terms.
You'll enjoy this book if you want to hear alternate theories on why certain events occur in society that normally can't be explained in economic terms. But this is a 15-minute sensation and not a book that will turn the world on its ear for a century.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
 Interesting but /and Light, Apr 27, 2023
Calling this a book on economics hasn't scared people away - with the book #3 on the Amazon.com listings and #5 here on .ca, people are clearly buying into the author's quirky insights into the world around us.Freakonomics is an interesting collection of observations, never conceding to any agenda whatsoever. It's entertaining, but never really takes you anywhere. Personally, I would have hoped that it would at least attempt to spur interest in economics and econometric methods, but in the end it reads more like an episode of Seinfeld - a book about, well, nothing. It's an easy read, achievable on a single rainy day, and certainly not challenging for the average reader with no economics background. But I would encourage folks who do pick it up to consider the usefulness of the correlation/causality distinction and the methods of analysis beyond the description here. Not many of you will pick up an economics or statistics text because of this, but maybe if there were more books like this which make it interesting and applicable in our daily lives, we would all have a better understanding and appreciation for our strange little world at large.
3 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
 Mostly A Disappointment, Apr 27, 2023
I was disappointed in this book. I bought it after reading a very positive review in the Wall Street Journal. I am always interested in anything that explains how things really work as opposed to the conventional wisdom put forth on most topics that is usually nothing more than some pundit's ill-thought out opinion. For anyone with a strong background in analyzing data either in manufacturing, R&D;, accounting, etc., and who has had their share of surprises over many years when the `obvious' answer turned out to be dead wrong, this book will not be much of a revelation. The profanity, although modest in quantity, and presented as quotes, was unnecessary in a work with nominal scholarly aspirations. Unless you are very young or have no background in solving problems by generating and using data, this book is likely not worth your time or money.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
New Twist to Economics, Apr 27, 2023
Just from the title alone, you can imagine that this book is unlike any other economic book; and you wouldn't be too far from the truth.
Freakonomics is a book that will make you begin to question your own "knowledge" on subjects and begin to look deeper for new angles, instead of what merely lies on the surface and seems most feasible.
This book covers several topics (mainly crime stats and causes of reduction and how one's "background" may influence your children's outcome)that are easily understandable by just about anyone, in it's wording.
Some...from all walk's of life...may find this book slightly controversial. I am one that had to sit back and take in the data he compiled about the increase of abortions being a big factor in the reduction of crime rates, with an open mind. I am here now, writing to you after reading all of that, and taking it in (and being a pro-lifer) and saying, "Wow. It makes so much sense!"
This book, I would recommend to anyone. It is definately a book that anyone wishing to open their mind to the workings of the world should read.
1 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
Freakie World out there!, Apr 27, 2023
I enjoyed this book. Levitt andd Dubner gives things a "twist". It is intersting and makes you think. I laughed alot. It was however, too short, not nearly long enough. Some of the language in one of the stories were not really appropiate for children or in my opinion even younger teens. For that reason I gave it a 3 star instead of higher. I have found myself using the stories in normal conversation with friends on several occasions. It is worth your time to read it.
|
Cart | 
