Chapter
Freakonomics and the Rogue Economist
04:46 - 09:54 (05:07)
The Freakonomics podcast features a discussion on the establishment economist who claims to be a rogue economist with a fresh perspective on economics. However, the co-hosts examine the fallacies of quantitative data that ignores societal context.
Clips
Stephen Levitt, an economist, watches without offering spare change as a homeless man approaches his car.
04:46 - 06:12 (01:25)
Summary
Stephen Levitt, an economist, watches without offering spare change as a homeless man approaches his car. Levitt sees things differently than most people and asks why the man has nice headphones if he is so poor.
ChapterFreakonomics and the Rogue Economist
EpisodeFreakonomics
PodcastIf Books Could Kill
Economist Steven Levitt found a mechanism to measure the effectiveness of police in reducing crime by examining police increases by mayors and governors running for re-election against crime rates, discovering that additional officers do bring down violent crime.
06:12 - 08:28 (02:15)
Summary
Economist Steven Levitt found a mechanism to measure the effectiveness of police in reducing crime by examining police increases by mayors and governors running for re-election against crime rates, discovering that additional officers do bring down violent crime. Though his findings were later disputed, Levitt's creativity in solving the tricky problem of measuring police effectiveness was recognized.
ChapterFreakonomics and the Rogue Economist
EpisodeFreakonomics
PodcastIf Books Could Kill
Stephen Levitt and other economists have an overconfidence in quantitative data, stripped of its social context, and believe that narratives mapped onto the data are infallible.
08:28 - 09:54 (01:25)
Summary
Stephen Levitt and other economists have an overconfidence in quantitative data, stripped of its social context, and believe that narratives mapped onto the data are infallible. This leads to the belief that there's always something hidden and counterintuitive, leading to annoyance among some people.