- Summary -
Superfreakonomics
Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner
1.
People respond to INCENTIVES although not necessary in ways that
are PREDICTABLE / MANIFEST
unconventional wisdom ain't necessarily so
LAW of UN-INTENDED CONSEQUENCES:
good feedback = extremely valuable
CUMULATED ADVANTAGE = the prominence of the first book,
produced advantages in writing a second book that a different autor
may not enjoy
many life decisions = hard
1 high stakes
2 un-certainty
3 rare; not much practicing
drunk driving
13x more likely accident cause
USA
>= 30% crashes
1 arrest on 27 000 miles!
1: 140 miles drunk
drunk walking
each year >= 1 000 pedestrians die traffic
per mile: 8X more likely to get killed than drunk driven
==> drive is saver than drunk walking
,India
men's condoms malefunction 15%!
60% men's penises too small!!!
codomn not optimized!
skeptical @ personal surveys
#1 HOW people SAY they behave = DECLARED preferences
#2 HOW they ACTUALLY behave = REVEILED preferences
negative externalities
air pollution
high insurance cost
toxic emissions
the horse
NY
200 000!
1 for 17 people NY @ begin century
noise from
wagons
horse shoes
1 for 17 000 accidents
car: 1 for 30 000
24 pound manour a day!
methane emission!
solution: automobile + electric car
carbon emission!
5% change to destroy earth
CAPITALISM = CREATIVE DESTRUCTION (Schumpeter)
, technological fixes
often far simpler
often far cheaper
than doom sayers could have imagine
behavior drivers
preferences
values
decisions
data accumulation!!!
there are execptions to every rule, it's also good to know the rule!
==> exceptions + anomalies
shark attacts
3 ways
bump & bite
hit & run
sneak attack
2001: 68 worldwide 4 fatal!
To change the world, you first have to understand it! ==>
understand the INCENTIVES!
prostitution
4 mean income streams Leshena
1 boosting = shoplifting + selling
2 roosting = lookout for streetgang
3 haircuts
4 turning trics
men always wanted more sex than they could get for free!
Chicago Everly Club; Butterly girls: "Sin in the second City" book
Politics + economics don't mix well
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