Freakonomics by Steven Levitt, Stephen Dubner (Nonfiction)

Incentives surround us every minute of every day and guide conscious actions. Ask yourself: Why do you roll out of bed in the morning? Why do you meet your deadlines? Is there any possible action without an underlying moral, social, or economic motive? Economist Steven Levitt and journalist Stephen Dubner would answer no—in fact, they argue that these incentives often compete with or complement one another in influencing the choices we make. Levitt and Dubner’s work Freakonomics focuses on the interplay of contemporary real-world incentives.

One thing I admire about this book is its narrative structure. Levitt and Dubner take case studies and use them to explain larger phenomena, an excellent method of organization. Take the example of an experiment involving a day care center in Haifa, Israel. Fining parents $3 for late pickups at the end of the day caused parent lateness to increase. Why? Compared to the monthly bill of $380, $3 was negligible, Levitt and Dubner explain, causing the economic incentive (parents need only pay a few dollars each day) to trump the moral and social disincentive (guilt and ridicule caused by leaving the child at the day care center). It is instances like these and many more throughout the book that make it extremely engaging and a great read. I would certainly recommend this to anyone interested in behavioral economics or the workings of the world in general.

Reviewed by Nitin S., Grade 12