An Analysis of Freakonomics

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The book” Freakonomics” is by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner. The title, “Freakonomics”, is a combination of two words: Freak (which means quirky, unusual, or weird) and economics, but in the sense of economic related to economic activity; the economics that consumer, families and businesses encounter every day. The title reflects the author’s name of the method of economic analysis in aspects of everyday life that normally fall outside the scope of the work of economists. The author’s success is due to the fact that this is a fun book to read, with a little dose of humor. No one can resist investigating the answer to questions like, "What do common schoolteachers and sumo wrestlers have in common? “ Or “Why drug dealers live with their mothers? “. But beyond anecdotes, the case studies presented in the book show some controversial findings, such as linking the decrease in violence in the United States to the legalization of abortion .The really interesting thing is that the book shows the true activities performed by economists that the general public usually does not know about.
Most people have assumptions about what an economist does. If a survey was made that asked people to show an example of what an economist does, answers would be varied. Some would say that an economist is a person that knows tax and accounting, others would say maybe a project manager, and some would even say that it is a person who analyzes the financial markets and is able to predict the exchange rate of a currency or market price of a market value. In the best case, it would be a professional who analyzes economic data such as GDP, inflation, and unemployment to predict how the economy will behave. Very few people would be to think of an econ...

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... “Freakonomics” show that the old principles of economic research are still valid: curious social behavior, ask the right questions, get accurate data, and demonstrable conclusions.
Although the authors have referred to the book as a different type of book, outside the main role of economics, it is really the opposite: it is a book that gets to the root and the origin of economic theory. Again, it raises questions about what happens in society, analyzing peoples motivations based on data and the economic rationality of individuals, and drawing conclusions which are often considered counterintuitive or different than established knowledge. In fact, Steven Levitt ‘s academic career has been marked by success, and he has been recognized by numerous awards. This shows that when economics is shown in a way understandable to the public, the result can be a big bestseller.

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