Super Freakonomics

Published in 2018, these notes discuss Levitt and Dubner's examples and claims from that period.

Freakonomics & Super Freakonomics by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner takes our normal life, look at it in a strange way, and then make us realise that not everything is so normal. Combining statistics (sometimes this can be fun), economics and the powers of deduction the books make you look at the world in a new way.

An example contrasting sharks and elephants made me think about how media coverage affects our sense of risk. A dramatic attack can dominate the news while other dangers get less attention.

The books move among topics as varied as suicide bombers and life insurance, abortion and crime, the policies of Nicolae Ceauşescu, sex work, and the possible effect of circumcision on HIV transmission. These are the authors' book-era questions and conclusions.

A topic of special interest for parents is their chapter on parenting. Levitt and Dubner argue that once neighbourhood economic and social status are considered, parents' direct effect on the measured outcomes looks much smaller. They use books in the home as an example of a predictor that may capture background factors rather than the act of reading itself. That does not mean parents contribute nothing: as I noted, they help choose where children live, what books are available and how they are raised. The chapter made me think about influences I might not notice at first.

Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner are one rogue economist and one extraordinary writer on the loose. Since 2003 they have been working together and have not only produced two most interesting books but have built a whole Freakonomics empire including podcasts and a regular blog. Their two books are easy to read and perfect conversation makers, they should be the next two on your list.