Freakonomics (1 Viewer)

[ElGatoLoco]

An economics professor I work with on occasion has highly recommended it to me, but I haven't read it yet. I'd be interested to know of Ivan or any of his colleagues have read it and have any thoughts on it.

Interesting, I just finished my first Economics course in my MBA program and my professor also highly recommended this book. EGL, I noticed your location says South Bend, I happen to be getting my MBA at IUSB, no chance you are there?

Paul Joray recommended it to me. He heads up the General Studies program.Yep, I'm the Director of Instituitonal Research. Ivan's making a common mistake thinking I'm in IIRC, which I think is his version of our IRB. I get that all the time. Those types of offices approve research and human subjects research, and help with grants and contracts. I do research and assessment on the institution, and I do a little strategic planning.

 

[Kleck]

Got this for Christmas. Good stuff.

 

[ratpfink]

An economics professor I work with on occasion has highly recommended it to me, but I haven't read it yet. I'd be interested to know of Ivan or any of his colleagues have read it and have any thoughts on it.

Interesting, I just finished my first Economics course in my MBA program and my professor also highly recommended this book. EGL, I noticed your location says South Bend, I happen to be getting my MBA at IUSB, no chance you are there?

Paul Joray recommended it to me. He heads up the General Studies program.Yep, I'm the Director of Instituitonal Research. Ivan's making a common mistake thinking I'm in IIRC, which I think is his version of our IRB. I get that all the time. Those types of offices approve research and human subjects research, and help with grants and contracts. I do research and assessment on the institution, and I do a little strategic planning.

Are you sure Ivan didn't just mean "If I Recall Correctly"?I'm halfway through Freakonomics. Very interesting, quick read.

 

[Sweet J]

Are you sure Ivan didn't just mean "If I Recall Correctly"?

I love FFA-speak.

 

[Tiger Fan]

Got this for Christmas. Good stuff.

Finished it a few weeks ago. Very insightful.

 

[noneother]

great book, I love the "SHA-teed" story...

 

[Kleck]

Nip

 

[ratpfink]

Wow, that was a quick read. I found the end chapter about names not nearly as interesting as the rest of the book so finishing it up was something of a buzzkill.

 

[Tiger Fan]

Wow, that was a quick read. I found the end chapter about names not nearly as interesting as the rest of the book so finishing it up was something of a buzzkill.

 

[Kleck]

Wow, that was a quick read. I found the end chapter about names not nearly as interesting as the rest of the book so finishing it up was something of a buzzkill.

:( I'm about 80% of the way through it.

 

[rolyaTy]

Listening to the audio version now.

 

[augmentlauren]

I'm actually almost done with it... considering I read the last 2 chapters first. I've really enjoyed it, and would recommend it to anyone.

 

[Otis]

I'm actually almost done with it... considering I read the last 2 chapters first. I've really enjoyed it, and would recommend it to anyone.

 

[Kleck]

Loved this book.

 

[Mr. Pickles]

read this recently. i have to agree with some that it shouldn't strike anyone as "groundbreaking" since a lot of the conclusions are common sense. levitt strikes me as less of an economist than a psychologist or statistician. i'm still not sure how he's considered to be doing high-level economics. much of what he's doing wouldn't be out of reach for an undergraduate.

i suppose the novelty here is how he attempts to eshew politics and look at things in a very dispassionate, cold, factual way.. no matter how disturbing or non-PC they may seem to be (evidence the link between legal abortions and lower crime). the analysis is often as simple as regression-based correlations. again, that's really nothing new.. but perhaps what is interesting are the questions that he poses.

the guy's curriculum vitae is impeccible: John Bates Clark Medal, NSF CAREER Award, Alfred Sloan Fellow, Harvard Society of Fellows, BS from Harvard and Ph.D. from MIT. can't really beat that. it just blows me away that this is representative of a leading edge economist.

 

[bialczabub]

read this recently. i have to agree with some that it shouldn't strike anyone as "groundbreaking" since a lot of the conclusions are common sense. levitt strikes me as less of an economist than a psychologist or statistician. i'm still not sure how he's considered to be doing high-level economics. much of what he's doing wouldn't be out of reach for an undergraduate.

i suppose the novelty here is how he attempts to eshew politics and look at things in a very dispassionate, cold, factual way.. no matter how disturbing or non-PC they may seem to be (evidence the link between legal abortions and lower crime). the analysis is often as simple as regression-based correlations. again, that's really nothing new.. but perhaps what is interesting are the questions that he poses.

the guy's curriculum vitae is impeccible: John Bates Clark Medal, NSF CAREER Award, Alfred Sloan Fellow, Harvard Society of Fellows, BS from Harvard and Ph.D. from MIT. can't really beat that. it just blows me away that this is representative of a leading edge economist.

Levitt is indicative of new economists that are broadly expanding the types of problems that economics is used to solve. If you look him up on wikipedia, he's done a lot of interesting research.

 

[Chaz]

I've used this book as the focus for an economics lesson that I teach (High School). I see it as a break from the "normal" supply and demand economics and just a way of looking at things differently.

 

[oddball]

. it just blows me away that this is representative of a leading edge economist.

If he wrote on his level, how many books would sell? I'm guessing he wrote way below his level in order to get this information into the average hand. In writing a book like this, the goal is not to write what you know, but to write so as to get the book into mainstream america.

 

[Mr. Pickles]

. it just blows me away that this is representative of a leading edge economist.

If he wrote on his level, how many books would sell? I'm guessing he wrote way below his level in order to get this information into the average hand. In writing a book like this, the goal is not to write what you know, but to write so as to get the book into mainstream america.

i totally understand that, but most economics problems aren't public friendly.. on any level. levitt probably did very little of the actual writing for this book.

 

[Homer J Simpson]

. it just blows me away that this is representative of a leading edge economist.

If he wrote on his level, how many books would sell? I'm guessing he wrote way below his level in order to get this information into the average hand. In writing a book like this, the goal is not to write what you know, but to write so as to get the book into mainstream america.

i totally understand that, but most economics problems aren't public friendly.. on any level. levitt probably did very little of the actual writing for this book.

Well, that's why he had a writer do the writing.

 

[Mr. Pickles]

. it just blows me away that this is representative of a leading edge economist.

If he wrote on his level, how many books would sell? I'm guessing he wrote way below his level in order to get this information into the average hand. In writing a book like this, the goal is not to write what you know, but to write so as to get the book into mainstream america.

i totally understand that, but most economics problems aren't public friendly.. on any level. levitt probably did very little of the actual writing for this book.

Well, that's why he had a writer do the writing.

he's an econ professor. that's a pretty substantial part of their job.

 

[Homer J Simpson]

. it just blows me away that this is representative of a leading edge economist.

If he wrote on his level, how many books would sell? I'm guessing he wrote way below his level in order to get this information into the average hand. In writing a book like this, the goal is not to write what you know, but to write so as to get the book into mainstream america.

i totally understand that, but most economics problems aren't public friendly.. on any level. levitt probably did very little of the actual writing for this book.

Well, that's why he had a writer do the writing.

he's an econ professor. that's a pretty substantial part of their job.

Yeah, but not writing for public consumption...I'm sure you'd write differently for Science than in the science section of Newsweek.

 

[Mr. Pickles]

. it just blows me away that this is representative of a leading edge economist.

If he wrote on his level, how many books would sell? I'm guessing he wrote way below his level in order to get this information into the average hand. In writing a book like this, the goal is not to write what you know, but to write so as to get the book into mainstream america.

i totally understand that, but most economics problems aren't public friendly.. on any level. levitt probably did very little of the actual writing for this book.

Well, that's why he had a writer do the writing.

he's an econ professor. that's a pretty substantial part of their job.

Yeah, but not writing for public consumption...I'm sure you'd write differently for Science than in the science section of Newsweek.

Of course you would.

 

[oddball]

. it just blows me away that this is representative of a leading edge economist.

If he wrote on his level, how many books would sell? I'm guessing he wrote way below his level in order to get this information into the average hand. In writing a book like this, the goal is not to write what you know, but to write so as to get the book into mainstream america.

i totally understand that, but most economics problems aren't public friendly.. on any level. levitt probably did very little of the actual writing for this book.

Agreed.

 

[NorvilleBarnes]

.  it just blows me away that this is representative of a leading edge economist.

If he wrote on his level, how many books would sell? I'm guessing he wrote way below his level in order to get this information into the average hand. In writing a book like this, the goal is not to write what you know, but to write so as to get the book into mainstream america.

i totally understand that, but most economics problems aren't public friendly.. on any level. levitt probably did very little of the actual writing for this book.

Does Oprah know this?

 

[IvanKaramazov]

read this recently.  i have to agree with some that it shouldn't strike anyone as "groundbreaking" since a lot of the conclusions are common sense.  levitt strikes me as less of an economist than a psychologist or statistician. 

Yeah, the stuff Levitt presents in here is more along the lines of "social science" than "economics." NTTAWWT. It was an interesting read, at for most chapters.

Anything that gets people to realize that "economics" is about more than just interest rates, unemployment, and the stock market is a good thing IMO.

 

[Tick]

I picked this up on CD. Its great for in the car as the sections are broken up nicely.

I just listened to this on a 7-hour drive, and thought it was very good. My favorite parts were the teachers and sumo wrestler parts. The rest didn't give enough information about the methods or data IMO.

 

[Tick]

great book, I love the "SHA-teed" story...

That was my least favorite part of the book, because it's just an urban legend.

 

[oddball]

A great book that just came out in April called:

"Revolutionary Wealth" by Alvin and Heidi Toffler

 

[Chase Stuart]

 

[Daywalker]

Thought it was a pretty good read. The abortion/crime link was interesting but as he said in the book it had been theorized well before this book came out.

Teachers cheating to get bonuses, bribery in sumo wrestling? Not really shocking.

I was dissppointed that he just dismissed Trent Lott's work on gun control without really going into why. He basically said Lott is a loon who probably fabricated his work. But Levitt himself says earlier that it kind of makes sense that criminals may be less inclined to commit crimes if they think their potential victim is armed. Really would have like Levitt to have delved deeper into this.

The baby-naming section was funny to me. Levitt talked about the rising popularity of Hebrew and Irish names. I'm 27 and of Irish ancestry and have liked the names Liam and Will for years now. They both appeared on the list of names he predicted would be very popular in 10 years.

 

[Kleck]

Almost a year since I read this book. I think back to it often and I'm glad I read it.

 

[Notorious T.R.E.]

Lots of good stuff in the Freakanomics blog these days.

http://www.psmag.com/business-economics/for-men-seeing-red-can-mean-paying-more-59622/

The color red has a strange power over our unconscious minds. Recent research suggests it can increase one’s attractiveness, compel teachers to grade papers more harshly, and even prompt people to get vaccinated for sexually transmitted diseases.

Now we can add to the list: It can trick men into overpaying for “sale priced” items.

A study in the June issue of the Journal of Retailing reports that, in a series of experiments, “Male consumers perceived greater savings when prices were presented in red than when presented in black.”

Red can increase one’s attractiveness, compel teachers to grade papers more harshly, and even prompt people to get vaccinated for sexually transmitted diseases.“When men see prices in red, they feel more positively and perceive greater savings,” write researchers Nancy Puccinelli, Rajesh Chandrashekaran, Dhurv Grewal, and Rajneesh Suri. “In contrast, women appear immune to the effects of prices in red, due to their tendency to process ads in greater depth.”

In one experiment, 163 graduate business students at an East Coast university were asked to imagine they were setting up an apartment. They then looked at a mock retail ad featuring three toasters and two microwave ovens.

Half saw a version of the ad in which the prices were printed in black ink; the others saw an alternate version in which the figures were in red. After examining them, participants were asked to (a) evaluate whether they felt the store was offering genuine bargains, and (b) describe their emotional state—specifically how happy, pleased, and glad they were feeling at that moment.

The results: “Males perceived greater savings at the store when the prices in the retail ad were presented in red,” the researchers report. “However, no such effect of color was observed for female participants.”

This perception appears to be emotion-driven. Men who viewed the red prices reported they were feeling more positive emotions, compared to men who looked at the black prices. The color did not have this effect on women.

For another experiment, featuring 152 graduate students, participants indicated their level of knowledge about toasters and microwave ovens, and their “interest in learning about kitchen appliances.” They then viewed the aforementioned ads.

The gender difference again appeared, but only among men with relatively low levels of knowledge or interest in the items. This suggests that the red-equals-savings trick only works when men aren’t particularly engaged, and are thus more susceptible to such cues.

So the message seems to be: Don’t send your husband to the store to buy a new microwave, or any other appliance he’s uninterested in. If the store is savvy enough to print the prices in red, he’s apt to come home having spent too much.

 

[DiStefano]

Lots of good stuff in the Freakanomics blog these days. http://www.psmag.com/business-economics/for-men-seeing-red-can-mean-paying-more-59622/

The color red has a strange power over our unconscious minds. Recent research suggests it can increase one’s attractiveness, compel teachers to grade papers more harshly, and even prompt people to get vaccinated for sexually transmitted diseases.Now we can add to the list: It can trick men into overpaying for “sale priced” items.A study in the June issue of the Journal of Retailing reports that, in a series of experiments, “Male consumers perceived greater savings when prices were presented in red than when presented in black.”Red can increase one’s attractiveness, compel teachers to grade papers more harshly, and even prompt people to get vaccinated for sexually transmitted diseases.“When men see prices in red, they feel more positively and perceive greater savings,” write researchers Nancy Puccinelli, Rajesh Chandrashekaran, Dhurv Grewal, and Rajneesh Suri. “In contrast, women appear immune to the effects of prices in red, due to their tendency to process ads in greater depth.”In one experiment, 163 graduate business students at an East Coast university were asked to imagine they were setting up an apartment. They then looked at a mock retail ad featuring three toasters and two microwave ovens.Half saw a version of the ad in which the prices were printed in black ink; the others saw an alternate version in which the figures were in red. After examining them, participants were asked to (a) evaluate whether they felt the store was offering genuine bargains, and (b) describe their emotional state—specifically how happy, pleased, and glad they were feeling at that moment.The results: “Males perceived greater savings at the store when the prices in the retail ad were presented in red,” the researchers report. “However, no such effect of color was observed for female participants.”This perception appears to be emotion-driven. Men who viewed the red prices reported they were feeling more positive emotions, compared to men who looked at the black prices. The color did not have this effect on women.For another experiment, featuring 152 graduate students, participants indicated their level of knowledge about toasters and microwave ovens, and their “interest in learning about kitchen appliances.” They then viewed the aforementioned ads.The gender difference again appeared, but only among men with relatively low levels of knowledge or interest in the items. This suggests that the red-equals-savings trick only works when men aren’t particularly engaged, and are thus more susceptible to such cues.So the message seems to be: Don’t send your husband to the store to buy a new microwave, or any other appliance he’s uninterested in. If the store is savvy enough to print the prices in red, he’s apt to come home having spent too much.

Damn sexism!

 

[Donsmith753]

Still two years to go but apparently this is the predicted list of baby names. Some are v.popular right now

Boy's Names Girl's Names

Aidan Annika

Aldo Ansley

Anderson Ava

Ansel Avery

Asher Aviva

Beckett Clementine

Bennett Eleanora

Carter Ella

Cooper Emma

Finnegan Fiona

Harper Flannery

Jackson Grace

Johan Isabel

Keyon Kate

Liam Lara

Maximilian Linden

McGregor Maeve

Oliver Marie-Claire

Reagan Maya

Sander Philippa

Sumner Phoebe

Will Quinn

Sophie

Waverly

 

[Hooper31]

Still two years to go but apparently this is the predicted list of baby names. Some are v.popular right now

Boy's Names Girl's Names

Aidan Annika

Aldo Ansley

Anderson Ava

Ansel Avery

Asher Aviva

Beckett Clementine

Bennett Eleanora

Carter Ella

Cooper Emma

Finnegan Fiona

Harper Flannery

Jackson Grace

Johan Isabel

Keyon Kate

Liam Lara

Maximilian Linden

McGregor Maeve

Oliver Marie-Claire

Reagan Maya

Sander Philippa

Sumner Phoebe

Will Quinn

Sophie

Waverly

Will be curious to see how accurate these predictions were.

 

[St. Louis Bob]

Lots of good stuff in the Freakanomics blog these days.

http://www.psmag.com/business-economics/for-men-seeing-red-can-mean-paying-more-59622/

The color red has a strange power over our unconscious minds. Recent research suggests it can increase one’s attractiveness, compel teachers to grade papers more harshly, and even prompt people to get vaccinated for sexually transmitted diseases.

Now we can add to the list: It can trick men into overpaying for “sale priced” items.

A study in the June issue of the Journal of Retailing reports that, in a series of experiments, “Male consumers perceived greater savings when prices were presented in red than when presented in black.”

Red can increase one’s attractiveness, compel teachers to grade papers more harshly, and even prompt people to get vaccinated for sexually transmitted diseases.“When men see prices in red, they feel more positively and perceive greater savings,” write researchers Nancy Puccinelli, Rajesh Chandrashekaran, Dhurv Grewal, and Rajneesh Suri. “In contrast, women appear immune to the effects of prices in red, due to their tendency to process ads in greater depth.”

In one experiment, 163 graduate business students at an East Coast university were asked to imagine they were setting up an apartment. They then looked at a mock retail ad featuring three toasters and two microwave ovens.

Half saw a version of the ad in which the prices were printed in black ink; the others saw an alternate version in which the figures were in red. After examining them, participants were asked to (a) evaluate whether they felt the store was offering genuine bargains, and (b) describe their emotional state—specifically how happy, pleased, and glad they were feeling at that moment.

The results: “Males perceived greater savings at the store when the prices in the retail ad were presented in red,” the researchers report. “However, no such effect of color was observed for female participants.”

This perception appears to be emotion-driven. Men who viewed the red prices reported they were feeling more positive emotions, compared to men who looked at the black prices. The color did not have this effect on women.

For another experiment, featuring 152 graduate students, participants indicated their level of knowledge about toasters and microwave ovens, and their “interest in learning about kitchen appliances.” They then viewed the aforementioned ads.

The gender difference again appeared, but only among men with relatively low levels of knowledge or interest in the items. This suggests that the red-equals-savings trick only works when men aren’t particularly engaged, and are thus more susceptible to such cues.

So the message seems to be: Don’t send your husband to the store to buy a new microwave, or any other appliance he’s uninterested in. If the store is savvy enough to print the prices in red, he’s apt to come home having spent too much.

Interesting....

 

[Notorious T.R.E.]

Lots of good stuff in the Freakanomics blog these days.

http://www.psmag.com/business-economics/for-men-seeing-red-can-mean-paying-more-59622/

The color red has a strange power over our unconscious minds. Recent research suggests it can increase one’s attractiveness, compel teachers to grade papers more harshly, and even prompt people to get vaccinated for sexually transmitted diseases.

Now we can add to the list: It can trick men into overpaying for “sale priced” items.

A study in the June issue of the Journal of Retailing reports that, in a series of experiments, “Male consumers perceived greater savings when prices were presented in red than when presented in black.”

Red can increase one’s attractiveness, compel teachers to grade papers more harshly, and even prompt people to get vaccinated for sexually transmitted diseases.“When men see prices in red, they feel more positively and perceive greater savings,” write researchers Nancy Puccinelli, Rajesh Chandrashekaran, Dhurv Grewal, and Rajneesh Suri. “In contrast, women appear immune to the effects of prices in red, due to their tendency to process ads in greater depth.”

In one experiment, 163 graduate business students at an East Coast university were asked to imagine they were setting up an apartment. They then looked at a mock retail ad featuring three toasters and two microwave ovens.

Half saw a version of the ad in which the prices were printed in black ink; the others saw an alternate version in which the figures were in red. After examining them, participants were asked to (a) evaluate whether they felt the store was offering genuine bargains, and (b) describe their emotional state—specifically how happy, pleased, and glad they were feeling at that moment.

The results: “Males perceived greater savings at the store when the prices in the retail ad were presented in red,” the researchers report. “However, no such effect of color was observed for female participants.”

This perception appears to be emotion-driven. Men who viewed the red prices reported they were feeling more positive emotions, compared to men who looked at the black prices. The color did not have this effect on women.

For another experiment, featuring 152 graduate students, participants indicated their level of knowledge about toasters and microwave ovens, and their “interest in learning about kitchen appliances.” They then viewed the aforementioned ads.

The gender difference again appeared, but only among men with relatively low levels of knowledge or interest in the items. This suggests that the red-equals-savings trick only works when men aren’t particularly engaged, and are thus more susceptible to such cues.

So the message seems to be: Don’t send your husband to the store to buy a new microwave, or any other appliance he’s uninterested in. If the store is savvy enough to print the prices in red, he’s apt to come home having spent too much.

Interesting....

I'll take two! No, three!

 

[Notorious T.R.E.]

Preventing Wi-Fi Free Riders
We have to have Wi-Fi available everywhere — I have withdrawal symptoms if I can’t do my email and check the web often. Recognizing this, many stores offer customers “free” Wi-Fi. I’m sure the cost of the Wi-Fi is passed onto the customers as higher product prices, in what are typically competitive retail industries. But how to avoid people spending hours in the shop surfing the web free of charge, and perhaps causing congestion for other users?

The Whole Foods store on Kensington High Street in London has solved this problem by allowing each computer or smart-phone a two-hour log on period, after which the device is booted off the Wi-Fi. Two hours are enough to satisfy almost any customer, but short enough to prevent non-customers from making the store their Wi-Fi venue of choice. I expect this kind of limit will become more widespread shortly — it is much more effective than warning people not to stay logged on for very long.

 

[Mario Kart]

Lots of good stuff in the Freakanomics blog these days.

http://www.psmag.com/business-economics/for-men-seeing-red-can-mean-paying-more-59622/

The color red has a strange power over our unconscious minds. Recent research suggests it can increase ones attractiveness, compel teachers to grade papers more harshly, and even prompt people to get vaccinated for sexually transmitted diseases.

Now we can add to the list: It can trick men into overpaying for sale priced items.

A study in the June issue of the Journal of Retailing reports that, in a series of experiments, Male consumers perceived greater savings when prices were presented in red than when presented in black.Red can increase ones attractiveness, compel teachers to grade papers more harshly, and even prompt people to get vaccinated for sexually transmitted diseases.

When men see prices in red, they feel more positively and perceive greater savings, write researchers Nancy Puccinelli, Rajesh Chandrashekaran, Dhurv Grewal, and Rajneesh Suri. In contrast, women appear immune to the effects of prices in red, due to their tendency to process ads in greater depth.

In one experiment, 163 graduate business students at an East Coast university were asked to imagine they were setting up an apartment. They then looked at a mock retail ad featuring three toasters and two microwave ovens.

Half saw a version of the ad in which the prices were printed in black ink; the others saw an alternate version in which the figures were in red. After examining them, participants were asked to (a) evaluate whether they felt the store was offering genuine bargains, and (b) describe their emotional statespecifically how happy, pleased, and glad they were feeling at that moment.

The results: Males perceived greater savings at the store when the prices in the retail ad were presented in red, the researchers report. However, no such effect of color was observed for female participants.

This perception appears to be emotion-driven. Men who viewed the red prices reported they were feeling more positive emotions, compared to men who looked at the black prices. The color did not have this effect on women.

For another experiment, featuring 152 graduate students, participants indicated their level of knowledge about toasters and microwave ovens, and their interest in learning about kitchen appliances. They then viewed the aforementioned ads.

The gender difference again appeared, but only among men with relatively low levels of knowledge or interest in the items. This suggests that the red-equals-savings trick only works when men arent particularly engaged, and are thus more susceptible to such cues.

So the message seems to be: Dont send your husband to the store to buy a new microwave, or any other appliance hes uninterested in. If the store is savvy enough to print the prices in red, hes apt to come home having spent too much.

Interesting....

I'll take two! No, three!

Why buy one when you can have two at twice the price?

 

[Hooper31]

Think like a Freak recently hit the stores. Just finished the first forty pages. Enjoying it quite a bit.

 

[bentley]

I liked Think Like a Freak, but I think that they gave away most of it on the blog and podcasts. Still happy to pay $9.95 to support the cause though.

 

[Hooper31]

Just finished The Armchair Economist. Good read for those interested in this sort of thing. It was originally written about 20 years ago, but updated in 2012. The last section on viewing environmentalism as a religion was excellent.

 

[Maurile Tremblay]

Just finished The Armchair Economist. Good read for those interested in this sort of thing. It was originally written about 20 years ago, but updated in 2012. The last section on viewing environmentalism as a religion was excellent.

That book is on my top five list for non-fiction that best held my attention. It's a lot of fun.