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Freakonomics Blog


Images From the Field

Foreign Policy publishes “an exclusive collection of work by the world’s most acclaimed conflict photographers.”




Ushahidi in Haiti and Chile

Ushahidi, the online mapping tool we’ve blogged about before, is now being used by rescue workers in Haiti and Chile.



Pay Attention!

What are you actually accomplishing when you’re doing five things at once? Maybe not as much as you think.



How's the View Up There?: A Q&A With the Author of The Tall Book

In The Tall Book, Arianne Cohen relies on insights from her own life (including a brief stint as one half of the world’s tallest couple), and research from economists and scientists to shed light on the pros and cons of life as a really tall person.




An Organ Printer?

We’ve blogged at length about the shortage of donor organs in the United States. A company in San Diego is working on a solution to that problem.




More Income, More Choices

As we get richer, we not only substitute toward higher-quality goods-we demand more diversity in what we consume and what we do.




Is Okun's Law Really Broken?

“Okun’s law” is a much-loved rule of thumb – it links increases in the unemployment rate with decreases in output. But is it broken?




Quotes Uncovered: Great Scott and Book Burners

Each week, I’ve been inviting readers to submit quotations whose origins they want me to try to trace, using my book, The Yale Book of Quotations, and my more recent research. Here is the latest round.





She Wins!

Jezebel, the blog devoted to “celebrity, sex, fashion,” has just referred to the “hippest-economist-ever Betsey Stevenson.”






Is Home-Country Bias Inevitable for Figure-Skating Judges?

In response to allegations of vote-trading and home-country bias among figure-skating judges at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake, the International Skating Union changed judging procedures. But have those reforms been effective?



Technology and Tenure

Should publishing requirements for tenure go up for scholars in the humanities and social sciences?





Losing the Gold

For most Olympics viewers, winning a silver medal at the Games would seem pretty impressive. For the silver medalists themselves, however, their feat can be disappointing.




Making Math More Appetizing

Mathalicious provides free math lessons, including supporting materials, for teachers and parents. The organization hopes to “transform the way math is taught and learned by focusing not only on skills but on the real-world applications of math, from sports to politics to video games to exercise.”



Jobs, Jobs, Jobs

With nearly one in ten American labor force participants out of work, it is clear that more needs to be done to stimulate hiring. Action is required, and I’m pleased to add my voice to those calling for a well-designed temporary hiring tax credit.