Freakonomics
A rogue economist explores the hidden side of everything
Steven D Levitt and Stephen J Dubner

As you start with Freakonomics, you may have your doubts whether this book is about economics at all. Let’s just say it is that useful versio of economics that concerns itself with explaining how people get the things they want. Levitt, who teaches economics at the University of Chicago, is a recent recipient of the John Bates Clark medal, awarded every two years to the best American economist under the age of 40. His approach to his vocation is unconventional enough to lead to a first chapter entitled 'What do schoolteachers and sumo wrestlers have in common?' But the curiosity to ask these atypical questions is what makes the book work, albeit in somewhat mysterious ways.

Co-written by journalist and author Dubner, the book points out how economics, at its core, is the study of incentives. In a scenario where nearly everybody wants more, cheating is a rather elementary economic act since it involves getting more for less. From macro cases like Enron to micro examples like employees stealing office resources, there is evidence to prove this. But through an interesting experiment involving bagels, the authors conclude that at least 87 per cent of the time, a majority of people are honest.

The book demonstrates the similarities between professional rungs in movies, sports, music and fashion and a career dealing drugs. In each highly competitive industry, those at the bottom will slave and work ungodly hours to reach the limited positions at the top, where there's a lot of money, with the added perks of power and glory. Things get even more radical in a chapter about parenting. How important a role do parents play in charting an individual's life course? People will mostly believe that risks they can control are less a source of outrage than risks they can't. This is the reason most folks feel safer driving a car than flying in a plane. And this is probably why parents would worry more about letting their child play in a house with a gun rather than a house with a swimming pool. But independent research shows that the house with a pool is potentially more dangerous than a house with a firearm. Which leads to a whole other train of thought about perceptions and influences.

One of its best aspects is how potently Freakonomics encourages you to ask questions, even the silly ones, because eventually you will learn something worthwhile. The book does come across as rather US-centric in the data and charts, particularly towards the end. But that is a small grouse really. Freakonomics is mind-expanding in the ideas it puts forth, and the derivative thoughts it inspires will lead to your own journeys into the hidden side of things.