One of those books that wasn't what I expected. Wish I'd read it earlier.
Levitt is a renegade economist who looks at all kinds of social questions and analyzes the economics of them. The result is fascinating. In this book, he examines the economics of US crime rates, the US drug trade, the real estate trade, parenting, the naming of black and white (American) children, and sumo wrestling. He looks hard at the effect of incentives and the risk assessment abilities of the masses. The books is soaked in American issues, but still relevant to all of us. Levitt reviews the numbers behind all the conventional explanations, refutes them, and provides his own answers. I had of course either read about or realized myself many of these but he added a lot of detail and clarity to my thoughts.
A slim book, finished in a morning, but highly entertaining, certainly unique.
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