The Fun Side of Economics

Posted by on August 14, 2014

Did you ever think reading about economics could be fun? (Probably not, or you’d be in our line of business!) Economist Steven Levitt and author Stephen Dubner have done just that with their 2009 book “Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything” (followed by “Super Freakonomics” in 2011.) When a book tackles topics like “Why a prostitute makes more money than an architect” and “How cheaters cheat, and how to catch them” you know this is not your average book about finance. Levitt and Dubner apply economic reasoning to a variety of topics including the use of incentives, the influence of your name and online daters, and they make it really interesting and funny. I highly recommend this book if for no other reason than to prove that not all economists are dull!  If you want a taste of Freakonomics without reading the book, check out their blog (www.freakonomics.com/blog). As I write this, their latest blog entry is titled “What Do Medieval Nuns and Bo Jackson Have In Common?” I don’t know – but I’m about to find out.

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