Chapters four and five of Freakonomics by Steven Levitt, discuss two interesting cases. In the beginning of chapter four, Steven Levitt starts off by arguing that the legalization of abortion played a big role in the sudden reduction in the crime rate in the United States approximately twenty years later. He then goes into the next chapter where he establishes a correlation between how a child is raised and later test scores. Furthermore, in his book he states many reasons for his argument and correlation.
Chapter four of Freakonomics starts off by giving background information of the dictator in Romania. Nicolae Ceausescu was the dictator of Romania that made abortion illegal. With this new abortion law Ceausescu wanted to strengthen Romania’s population. Before the abortion law, there were four abortions to every live birth (Levitt and Dubner, 2009). However, women who already had four children and were apart of the communist party were exempt from this law. Within one year of this act the population had doubled. Studies had shown that people who were born after the abortion law would do worse in school, in work, and would sometimes be more likely to become
A new outlook on pre-Civil War slavery is portrayed in Edward Jones' novel "The Known World". Unlike many well-known novels that cover slavery, Jones chose to focus on the thoughts and emotions of both the slaves and slave-owners and how they interact with each other. Set in a wealthy Virginia county, the practice of owning slaves is common to the white man and the black man as well. The main focus of the story is Henry Townsend, a black former slave that was bought out of slavery by his father, who was also a former slave. As time passes Henry never loses the admiration he has for his former master and looks to him as an idol. Much to his parent's disappointment Henry not only enjoys his life as a free black man after being bought by his parents, but also takes advantage of his right to own slaves. He does not feel guilty for owning slaves, but instead feels that he is adding to his legacy and worth. Henry feels that if someone didn't want to be a slave that they should pay for their freedom, just as his father had done. If they want freedom bad enough they will be able to obtain it in his eyes. But, when Henry dies it is his widow, Caldonia, a black woman that was born free, is torn between her loyalty to her race and loyalty to her deceased husband. Ultimately Caldonia stays true to the legacy that her husband had built, but it is understood that she does this due to pressure from society. Jones chooses to show the thoughts of his characters rather than tell them which undeniably gives greater depth to all of the characters. Through the actions of both slave and slave-owner alike "The Known World" shows that the world surrounding the institution of slavery has more to do with social status than it does with race and the color o...
The world is an increasingly tricky, sticky place. Mysteries present themselves every day; and in every way, people are puzzled and intrigued and on the hunt for answers. Steven D. Levitt, co-author of Freakonomics with Stephen J. Dubner, is one such person. Devoting his professional life to cracking the mysteries of seemingly mundane, and sometimes trivial, economic in daily life, Levitt jumps from assumption to decision, connecting dots in sometimes genius, sometimes haphazard, ways, and forming conclusions that occasionally defy conventional thought. Freakanomics gifts readers with several ideas to chew on and challenges deeply rooted thoughts.
This paper aims to present the book review of ‘Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything’ along with the main arguments, course applications and personal opinions.
Freakonomics should be viewed as a form of questioning the world. Not as “an excellent subject for more rigorous analysis” but rather as an example of literature used to present information to the general public (Jobs). For example, although Charles Jobs critiques many Freakonomic studies, he discovered the importance a certain mindset can have in a c...
Morality is an idea that has been long forgotten in our society. As generations come and go, so do the general ideas of what is right and wrong. Actions that would have once been seen as morally wrong are now clouded over by the biggest player in today’s society, the market. The market system has defaced morality in almost every aspect. Whether it has to do with someone buying their way up a transplant list for a kidney or betting on what celebrity will die first on a popular website, morality has been put on the back burner. Of all the facets of life where market has taken over morality, insurance is a prominent one. In Michael Sandel’s “What Money Can’t Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets”, Sandel speaks of the reality behind a specific type of insurance, janitor’s insurance, and the price it puts on a human’s life. Sandel questions the distastefulness of janitor’s insurance by focusing on the role that the
For immigrant, minority, or English learning student, name has historical and hereditary significance. They may have stories behind their name which are suppressed when they are regularly compelled to adjust to an “Americanized” setting. However, that transition forces students to take name that do not define them. Yee Wan moved to United States from China when she was 17. When she enrolled to a school at United States, she was forced to change her name-- she had to decide whether to keep her native name or change to American name so that it would be easier for her teachers to pronounce her name. Realizing that there was no choice, she had to change her name to Winnie. (McLaughlin 1). Similarly, Michelle-Thuy Ngoc is a US born teen
names are prevented from being able to reassimilate within society, they are the outcasts. It also
There are many reasons why people may feel self-conscious; in which, others may or may not, be able to relate to. “My Name’’ is the fourth chapter in The House on Mango Street and in this chapter, Esperanza and I share some similarities. Being named after a relative, born in the Chinese year of the horse, and a dislike in our own name are similarities we share in this chapter. [Esperanza] “In English my name means hope. In Spanish it means to many letters’’(10). Esperanza expresses a dislike in her name due to the length stating, that her name it is too long. When I was younger, I felt the same as my parents placed upon me three middle names at birth. I to felt my name was too long. I would feel embarrassed when my family would address me by my full name although, they would only do so if I was
In Lee Ann Fisher Baron’s “Junk Science,” she claims that the “food industry with the help of federal regulators” sometimes use “[a science that] bypasses [the] system of peer review. Presented directly to the public by…‘experts’ or ‘activists,’ often with little or no supporting evidence, this ‘junk science’ undermines the ability…[for] everyday consumers to make rational decisions” (921). Yet Americans still have a lot of faith in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). According to a 2013 Pew Research study, 65% of Americans are “very favorable” or “mostly favorable” of the FDA. When it comes to what people put in their bodies, the FDA has a moral obligation to be truthful and transparent. The bottom line of the FDA’s myriad of responsibilities is to help protect the health of Americans. Deciding what to eat is a critical part of living healthily, and consumers must be able to trust that this massive government agency is informing them properly of the contents of food. While the FDA does an excellent job in many areas, it has flaws in other areas. One of its flaws is allowing the food industry to print food labels that are deceptive, unclear, or simply not true (known as misbranding). This is quite the hot topic because a Google search for “Should I trust food labels” returns well over 20 million results, many of which are blog posts from online writers begging their readers not to trust food labels. HowStuffWorks, a division of Discovery Communications, published an online article whose author claims that “[the food industry] will put what they want on labels. They know the game….” While the food industry is partially at blame for misbranding, the FDA is allowing it to happen. If a mother tells her children that it is oka...
Armand Aubigny took pride in his family name to the point where it influenced his viewpoint towards his slaves. In the story it says “What did it matter about a name when he could give her one of the oldest and proudest in Louisiana” (Chopin 1)? Typically in the South, the aristocratic family name meant everything in terms of identity, wealth, and power. Back in the antebellum period, segregation and slavery was accepted as it was deeply engraved in the Southern culture. To be a slave meant to be of the lowest in the social ladder as they were considered property, while the big plantation and slave owner...
Revealing the hidden side of life in clarity, Freakonomics draws in all economists with unmentioned assumptions which are upheld with reasoned correlation, bonding subjects that unveil misconceptions, concluding on economic pattern limitations. Effectively, they lead their audience on their conviction route as smoothly as possible. Nice job on not screwing the map up. Allowing them to achieve their goals, this was to change people’s views. By the time a person puts down Freakonomics, they have been led to conviction about all their claims because Dubner & Levitt know that in order to change someone else’s way of thinking you must change your own.
In pondering what I could write these economic stories about, I referred to text in the book “How to Think Like an Economist”, with in this book Mr. Arnold had a great revelation that caught my attention. That of the question “can there ever be too little of a bad thing?” (Arnold, 2005), this tidbit of information got me to think just in everyday life, is it possible to want what to monopolize happiness so much that the bad in life can destroy you. In reflecting upon various life situations and relationships I found that the influences of economic principles where everywhere and in order to monopolize life you have to notice the principles and theories.
I have read an account called " 'What's in a Name? " ", which is composed by Henry Louis Gates. This account demonstrates to us a youth experience of the creator that happened amid the mid-1950s. In the article, Gates alludes to an occurrence when a white man, Mr. Wilson, who was well disposed with his dad, called his dad "George", a name which was a prominent method for alluding to African Americans in those circumstances. In any case, Gates' dad needed to acknowledge this separation and couldn't make a move around then. By utilizing sentiment to bring out individuals' enthusiastic reaction, and utilizing suggestion, Gates effectively communicates his claim that name shapes individuals' discernments