Why else would the two stadiums in Williamsport, Pa., where the Little League Baseball World Series is played, be moving back their fences 20 feet? Well, it turns out that Little Leaguers at this level are hitting more home runs than doubles, which isn’t the way it works in the Bigs. It’s funny: MLB’s idea of a thrilling game is . . .
A while back I blogged about a man who was caught in a compromising position with a goat and forced to pay a dowry to the donkey’s owner. Now, from a Reuters story, a report that a textbook from India makes comparisons between a donkey and a wife: NEW DELHI (Reuters) – A textbook used at schools in the Indian . . .
Levitt and I will be in London early next week to promote the U.K. paperback edition of Freakonomics. Just in time for our trip, the Harvard economists Ed Glaeser and David Cutler ask (and answer) the very question that I’ve long wondered about: Why Do Europeans Smoke More Than Americans? “Almost one-half of the smoking difference,” they write, “appears to . . .
Wouldn’t you know it? On the same day that I was poking fun at Amazon.com for one if its e-mail blitzes, they launch a podcast called Amazon Wire, featuring Steven Soderbergh, Blondie, The Flaming Lips, and … me. The essay I read was adapted from the first “Freakonomics” column we wrote for the N.Y. Times Magazine, about the Yale economist . . .
In Freakonomics, we wrote a good bit about first names — how popular names move their way down the socioeconomic ladder, how “high education” names differ from “low education” names, how black names differ from white names, etc. It’s only natural, therefore, that someone would take a look at data on names and try to profit from it. That’s the . . .
Or, failing that, it needs to wait a few hours before sending out its e-mail blitzes. Here’s what just showed up in my in-box: Dear Amazon.com Customer, Congratulations, [placeholder for winning team]! As someone who has purchased sports-related products, we thought you should be the first to see our selection of NCAA championship products. NCAA Championship Cap Check out our . . .
If voting were as much fun as playing the lottery, a lot more people would probably vote. Some folks in Arizona are trying to do something to make voting more like the lottery. There is an initiative on the ballot (you need to scroll down that page to see it) that reads as follows: “This law will establish a voter . . .
People never seem to get tired of debating about whether legalizing abortion reduced crime. The latest installment involved my co-author John Donohue and a host of critics in a Battle Royale cage match held at the American Enterprise Institute. All of our most vocal critics were there, even Steve Sailer. If you have four hours, you can watch it for . . .
Nathan Englander is, or at least was, a startlingly good young writer who in 1999 published a collection of short stories called For the Relief of Unbearable Urges. The book sold a lot of copies, won some awards, and generally set everyone talking about how talented and insightful Englander was, especially for such a young writer. (He was the Jonathan . . .
The April 2, 2006, Freakonomics column is about tax cheating. This blog post supplies additional research material.
The April “Freakonomics” column in The New York Times Magazine will address –you guessed it– taxes. It’s about how people hate the I.R.S. for the wrong reasons and will run Sunday, April 2nd. The article should be available online here by late Sat. night (4/1/06), and bonus information is available here.
March 5, 2021: These bookplates are no longer available. We’re sorry for the inconvenience. It is with a warm heart and sore fingers that I write to let you all know that I mailed an additional 1500 bookplates this week. Those silly authors finally found the time, between frivolities like writing and researching, to sign their names a couple thousand . . .
Our upcoming “Freakonomics” column in The New York Times Magazine is about how people hate the I.R.S. for the wrong reasons. The article should be available online here by late Sat. night (4/1/06), and we’ll also post an accompanying page elsewhere on this site with research data, etc.
Some of you have undoubtedly already seen this, but if you haven’t, take a look at what happens when compelling data meets beautiful (and useful) design: WorldMapper, “a collection of world maps, where territories are re-sized on each map according to the subject of interest.” While there are a lot of interesting categories — tourism, immigration, population — I’m hoping . . .
In a sample of 13 African countries between 1999 and 2004, 52% of women surveyed say they think that wife beating is justified if she neglects the children; around 45% think it’s justified if she goes out without telling the husband or argues with him; 36% if she refuses sex, and 30% if she burns the food. And this is . . .
Yayi Boni, an economist who used to run the West African Development Bank, has been elected president of the African country of Benin. He is at least the second economist to have recently become president of an African nation, joining Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia. To the best of my knowledge, there has never been a U.S. president who was also . . .
A couple days ago, Levitt wrote on this blog that Tyler Cowen, half of the dynamic Marginal Revolution duo (along with Alex Tabarrok), will start writing a monthly economics column for the New York Times business section. I just wanted to add my congratulations — for George Mason University’s miraculous appearance in the Final Four, I mean. Plainly, just about . . .
The answer is that they all blurb the new book Muzzled: From T-ball to Terrorism- True Stories that Should be Fiction written by my friend Michael Smerconish. The book is an edgy and amusing series of vignettes about how political correctness has gone too far. The topics range from streaking at Princeton to Mumia Abu-Jamal to airport security and just . . .
Tyler Cowen of the economics blog MarginalRevolution is going to be taking over a spot in the rotation in the “Economics Scene” column of the business section of the New York Times. I really look forward to reading this. Given the amount of blogging he does, he is unlikely to run out of column ideas anytime soon. As for Dubner . . .
I have two daughters adopted from China and it is an issue close to my heart. Here’s a link to a story in the New York Times on identity issues for these adopted girls face. My wife and I decided to adopt two girls from China in the hope that having a Chinese sister would help with these issues. I . . .
There is good news for all those craving a Freakonomics television fix. On Friday, March 24th, a segment is scheduled to run on Good Morning America addressing teacher incentives. The exact time is TBD, but watching ABC between 7:00am and 9:00am should keep you covered. Set those DVRs!
A recent undercover investigation by the BBC claims that real estate agents in the UK go to great lengths to exploit their informational advantage, including trumpeting fake offers, colluding with mortage brokers, and even tossing in a fake British passport with the property. It is an interesting article. A quote in the article states, “Perhaps, like in the United States, . . .
We get a lot of different kind of e-mail response to our book: some friendly, some antagonistic, some curious, etc etc etc. This one, which came the other day, may be one of my all-time favorites: Hello. I am Rohan Patel, I am 10 years old. Your book was amazing! I loved it, but I found one mistake in it. . . .
The Aplia Econ Blog, subtitled “News for Econ Students,” has just been launched. It’s the blog arm of Stanford economist Paul Romer’s business venture, Aplia, which aims to streamline, automate, and otherwise perfect the instruction of college-level economics.
The blog turned one today. It was never meant to reach its first birthday. It was never supposed to exist at all. On a whim, Dubner suggested we do a blog. I was hesitant. He assured me that we would just do it for a few months after the book was released, then we would let it die. The only . . .
I don’t actually have the answer, but here’s a link to a very amusing website www.flapart.ca. They sell joke book jackets that you can put over the hardcover book you are reading on the bus, subway, or at work. They offer a wide range of titles. Some are likely to lead strangers to strike up conversations with you. Others will . . .
Every time you think award season is over, something new and exciting comes along. This week, it’s the 2006 Book Sense Book of the Year award. The award recognizes the titles independent booksellers most enjoyed handselling during the past year, so it’s especially gratifying to hear that Freakonomics took home the prize in adult nonfiction. Thank you, booksellers.
Because the abortion/crime theory put forward by Steve Levitt and John Donohue in this 2001 paper was so jarring, on so many levels, it drew great interest and occasional controversy. The noise really began in 1999, when a preliminary version of the paper was written about. So by 2003, when I first wrote about Levitt in the N.Y. Times Magazine, . . .
First came prosper.com, “the online marketplace for people-to-people lending” — think eBay meets Craig’s List meets (potentially) Shylock. Then comes word that WalMart wants to get into the banking business. In tomorrow’s papers, look for news that Robert L. Johnson, founder of Black Entertainment Television and majority owner of the NBA’s Charlotte Bobcats, is buying Metro Bank in Orlando, renaming . . .