SuperFreakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes, and Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance, written by journalist Stephen J. Dubner and economist Steven D. Levitt, is a worthy follow-up to their international best-seller, Freakonomics. Their new book exemplifies the most important theme in their writings, namely, that people respond to incentives and that their responses are often unexpected. The authors examine new technologies that some ingenious out-of-the-box thinkers are pursuing and that investors may wish to keep an eye on. SuperFreakonomics is filled with entertaining stories that engage the reader and provide interesting insights on a wide range of topics.
In 2003, journalist Stephen J. Dubner set out on an assignment to write a feature article about an intriguing individual. Hundreds of such profiles are published every day, usually resulting, at best, in an interesting article that is forgotten by week’s end. This time, however, the interview and the subsequent collaboration between the journalist and the interviewee developed into a highly successful partnership. Dubner’s New York Times Magazine article concerned a young economist from the University of Chicago who focused on offbeat, seemingly uneconomic economics. Steven D. Levitt was the 2003 winner of the John Bates Clark Medal, given (at the time) biennially to the top U.S. economist under 40 years old. At the time, neither man realized that their fortuitous meeting would change both their lives.
The collaboration of a gifted journalist with the ability to enliven academic topics and an economist with the knack for extracting answers from seemingly incomprehensible data has produced some of the most interesting contemporary readings in economics. In 2005, Levitt and Dubner published Freakonomics, which had the audacity to ask such questions as “What do school teachers and sumo wrestlers have in common?” and “How is the Ku Klux Klan like a group of real estate agents?” The book went on to become an international best-seller. Four years later, the duo has returned with SuperFreakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes, and Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance.
The book begins with an unusually funny and entertaining preface in which the authors trace the beginning of their collaborative efforts and spend a good deal of time poking fun at themselves. They recount how they came up with the title of their first book and explain why both knew they were likely to have a successful partnership. Levitt and Dubner go on to highlight the most important and unifying theme in their writings, namely, that people respond to incentives and that their responses are often unexpected.
Although SuperFreakonomics consists of only five chapters, each chapter contains several stories on a common theme. For example, in “Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance,” the authors discuss various aspects of birth and death. These include the reason a person’s birth month can affect the risk of birth defects and determine an individual’s probability of becoming a major league baseball player.
Levitt’s unconventional work has become predictably unpredictable. Repeating a technique used in Freakonomics, he compares two ostensibly dissimilar groups: street prostitutes and department store Santas. Perhaps surprisingly to noneconomists, both groups act as rational economic players. Levitt and Dubner also offer some insights into new technologies that some ingenious out-of-the-box thinkers are pursuing. From inventions that can reduce the severity of hurricanes to unique approaches for dealing with global warming, the authors touch on a few innovations that investors may wish to keep an eye on.
Although Levitt and Dubner have produced a worthy successor to their hugely successful first book, SuperFreakonomics faces the challenges of most sequels, namely, meeting extremely high expectations and developing a fresh approach. Readers who enjoyed Freakonomics and are merely looking for more tales from the world of economics will likely be pleased with this follow-up. Those who are looking for surprises are likely to be disappointed.
In a profession whose members spend a great deal of time trying to glean insights from almost limitless amounts of data, Levitt has shown himself to be among the best at using data optimally to address questions that seem impossible to answer. Much like the work of author Malcolm Gladwell, SuperFreakonomics ;is filled with entertaining stories that engage the reader and provide interesting insights on a wide range of topics. It is an excellent read for anyone who enjoys delving into human behavior.
—R.L.M.