Which is safer for a kid:
swimming pool or a gun?? common sense says
swimming pool but Levitt with his
data proves that it is guns. Fewer
kids die of gunshots than drowning in a pool. This book
is filled with many such questions that do not fall in the realm of classical economics: What doschoolteachers and sumo wrestlers have in common? Why do drug dealersstill live with their moms? How much do parents really matter? How didthe legalization of abortion affect the rate of violent crime?Levitt
answers them all with data in a simple lucid manner. he makes you
realise the difference between correlation and causality i.e.
somethings that are related and some that cause each other. e.g.
Pratibha Sinha has made
guest appearance in two movie: Raja Hindustani
and Deewana Mastan and both did very well doesnt mean that any
movie with her as a guest will work! rather she has chosen good movies to
make a guest appearnace (but has poor choice in case of full fledged
roles). This is a wonderful book to read for everyone: from
layperson to trained economists: It opens the mind to ask
interesting questions and then to logically look through complex data to answer it.
Do you think you know how a drug gang works?? First response woudl be
that there is no data! Levitt proves that it exists if used properly.
Similar is the case of cheating teachers and Sumo wrestlers. It would be interesting to see if any of our cricketing whizzes pick it up to test on match fixing ;). The problem with this book is that it is too American.
It is tough to relate to as an Indian. Seriously, how many Indians have
a swimming pool or a gun in their house?? Do we have a problem of
violent crime springing from teenage pregnancy? Drugs are not that
pervasive in Indian society for the study of a US gang to be of any
use. Similary with the level of diversity we have I do not believe its
possible to have any high income or low income names for kids.
More reviews about the Freakonomics