Steven Levitt teaches economics at the Univ. of Chicago. He received the John Bates Clark Medal, awarded every 2 years to the best American economist under 40. Stephen Dubner, a NYT and New Yorker writer, had bestselling books Turbulent Souls and Confessions of a Hero Worshipper. Freakonomics was a NYT bestseller. This book was a gift.

Steven Levitt is not a typical economist for he establishes this unconventional premise: “If morality represents how we would like the world to work, then economics represents how it actually does work.” The key is his belief that “the modern world, despite a surfeit of obfuscation, complication, and downright deceit, is not impenetrable, is not unknowable, and – if the right questions are asked – is even more intriguing than we think.” It takes is a new way of looking, with the right data to look at.

This book is a much appreciated gift book. Its chapter titles are quite revealing: 1. What Do Schoolteachers and Sumo Wrestlers Have in Common? (the beauty of incentives, and their dark side – cheating); 2. How Is the Ku Klux Klan Like a Group of Realtors? (nothing is more powerful than information, especially when its power is abused); 3. Why Do Drug Dealers Still Live with Their Moms? (conventional wisdom is often just a web of fabrication, self-interest, and convenience); 4. Where Have All the Criminals Gone? (facts of crime are sorted out from the fictions); 5. What Makes a Perfect Parent? (ask, from a variety of angles: do parents really matter?); 6. Would a Roshanda by Any Other Name Smell as Sweet? (the importance of a parent’s first act – naming the baby).

These topics certainly grab your attention. All his answers seem wrong, until you follow the data and its inference. I was most surprised by Ch 4 – of the several arguments in the media “explaining” the large decrease in crime in the 1990s, none are adequate. But the one that works best is shocking – the legalization of abortion (which led to fewer births under the living conditions that most likely breed criminals). Before you disregard his answer as “politically or morally incorrect” (or you deny it and “bury your head in the sand”), follow the data and its inference – then decide if Levitt is onto something or not. I strongly recommend all read this book. It will make you think real hard - I presume that this is why Steven Levitt received the John Bates Clark Medal.