Since this is my first book recommendation of this blog I thought the only logical thing to do is write about one of my all time favorite econ books called “Freakonomics” written by two famous economists Steven J Dubner and Steven Levitt. What I love about this book, and what I think you all will too, is that it explains economics with real world examples and studies and shows just how relevant economics is to everyday life, more so than most people realize. This book is so mind-opening and makes you want to ask questions you would’ve never thought to ask prior to reading it. To me, the most interesting study the authors mentioned was researchers found that in the nineties, the large decline in crime rates was directly correlated to the increased abortions shortly after Roe v Wade was passed in the seventies. The theory is that had these women not had abortions, their children would have been an appropriate age in the nineties to commit crimes but since they had had these abortions, the crime rate was much lower than expected. This is certainly a very controversial topic and there is no definite evidence that this was the direct cause but it is super interesting to learn about. Who would have thought that these two arbitrary things that seem to have nothing in common actually have a strong correlation. You can learn more about this along with many other real life examples of economics coming into play in this amazing book. I highly recommend this book to any and everyone even if you aren’t an economics major. It is still a fascinating read and it will certainly get you thinking.
Sources
Levitt, Steven D., and Steven J. Dubner. Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything. William Morrow, 2005.