Although not new, and arguably not a serious economics work, Freakonomics nonetheless has had an enormous impact on everyday economics and will be recognized for some time to come. Therefore it seems fitting as our first book review:

Freakonomics
A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything
By Steven Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
HarperCollins Publishers, 2005. 256 pp., $16.77 cloth.

Freakonomics is a compilation of Steven Levitt’s main papers and subsequent findings, weaved together, sometimes in a confusing manner, by Stephen Dubner. While giving the impression that he is trying to make economics accessible to the masses, Levitt shows how non-traditional thinking can bring about surprising results. The author also brings to fore how many conclusions that are often taken for granted can actually be deceiving. Readers, therefore, should not be put off by the pop-culture evoking title of this book. In fact, a wide audience that includes people interested in economics, social sciences and those who just want to observe a different outlook on statistics, should find this book worth reading.

Throughout the book, Levitt endeavors to dissect issues or phenomena until he arrives at what he sees as the core problem. For example, when crime in New York started decreasing, people attributed it to gun control laws, or to former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani’s strict policing laws, among other reasons. These were proffered by many experts, and repeated by the media. While Levitt acknowledges that these factors may have had effects, he concludes that Roe v. Wade was the principal reason for the decline. Simply stated, he finds that crime rates in the city decreased dramatically 16 years after abortion was legalized. Since studies reveal that ‘unwanted’ children commit more crimes than other children, a decline in their number limits crime rates. He therefore concludes that legalization of abortion has an inverse effect on crime levels. The controversy and backlash that this article brought about in both conservative and liberal circles shows how it may have been just as difficult publishing them (for political reasons) as finding them in the first place. Levitt, however, seems to have no specific political agenda; one notices him dealing with his economic experiments and not identifying himself with one side or the other politically.

What makes the book an interesting read is the ostensible absurdity of the questions the author deals with. “Why drug dealers tend to live with their mothers” or “how swimming pools may be more dangerous than guns” raises eyebrows the moment one sheds the first glance. However, Lewitt’s brilliance lies in this very expertise of being able to clearly demarcate unobvious linkages and putting forth strong and competent arguments to support his hypothesis.

A critical reading reveals two significant points about Freakonomics. First, theories akin to these have emerged in recent decades. For example, debates already exist on how a country’s prosperity level might be negatively correlated to the average hair length of girls in that country. What differentiates this from Lewitt’s study is the absence of rigorous analysis. This may be a fun theory, but it is just a theory! There is virtually no discussion over methodology or scope. Levitt on the other hand, includes along with compelling evidence, the power of simple written exchange easily accessible and understood by the most passive of readers. Secondly, one realizes he obviously does not cover every area that could be covered and even within his areas he may not have looked at every possible detail. He tends to search for plausible solutions, many times very convincingly, but does not go as far as to disprove (or sometimes even mention) other possible explanations. This leaves the possibility for loopholes in his theories, which may detract from his conclusions.

There are, however, more than enough other reasons to read this book. On the whole, it encourages the reader to have a different outlook on economic and social data and learn to take less for granted. It also makes one wonder about other facts and clichés, such as if it is true that “the proverbial butterfly that flaps its wings on one continent…eventually causes a hurricane on another.”

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