Superfreaks Stand On An Ivory Tower Of Theory, But It Works

In the explosive follow-up to their golden child, Freakonomics, the self proclaimed "rogues" Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner come together once again, achieving the balance of statistical analysis and narration to show that sometimes, the hard truth can be stranger than fiction. In fact, it can be downright freaky.

Using basic economic theorems, the duo takes the reader through a series of controlled (and some not-so-controlled) situations that claim to take on conventional wisdom.

The series begins with the question: "How is a prostitute like a department store Santa?" As the seemingly silly issue is addressed, others arise - How is a pimp like a realtor? How has the prostitution industry changed within the last century? By the time the answer finally comes through (apparently the prostitution industry grows around certain holidays, hence the Santa parallel), the reader is left with insights into the practice that can only come through the lens of the "freak" economists.

And so it goes. The other cases follow a similar pattern. As in their first book, the dazzle does not come from the research outcomes (prominently marketed on the cover illustration), but from the methodology. It could be derived from logic that a suicide bomber could buy life insurance if he or she wanted to reduce the likelihood of capture (as was shown in another drawn-out case). But it takes a bit more ink to describe the process by which that conclusion can be "teased" out of data to make it quantifiable. That's where Dubner comes in. There is something to be said of someone who can take dry statistical research and narrate it in the form of a 200 page feature.

Deviating from their typical structure, Levitt and Dubner have decided to dedicate two chapters to economic concepts - altruism and cost-efficiency - rather than just focusing on case studies. In a chapter devoted entirely to altruism, the authors take a shot at explaining human generosity via economic models and "games." After examining cases like that of Kitty Genovese, when civil apathy led to the murder of a young Queens woman in 1964, the authors attempt to explain altruism through a series of controlled social experiments.

The research explained in the book demonstrated that homo economicus can show more generosity in an experimental game than would be rational. When tested in practice, however, the subjects ended up showing their true greed. The end result of this attempt at enlightenment ended up being a scrutiny of methodology. In this way, the book seems to have failed its readers in providing an upended view of one of economics' greatest intangibles. Keep the methodology debates in the ivory tower. Give the readers the good stuff.

While the follow up to Freakonomics does not have many qualities of a traditional "sequel," one thread runs through both works and ultimately defines their conclusions. That one common denominator is incentive. As their work on altruism attempted to prove, humans act rationally and for their own ultimate gain - monetary or otherwise. Another prominent theme was sex - an issue given over 50 pages of attention. Nothing can be said for this other than that the authors understand the old marketing adage as well as they do economics - sex sells.

What was lacking in the analyses, however, was the proverbial economic caveat - all other things held equal. When conducting experiments on human behavior, it would be presumptuous to say that economic rationality is the only factor in decision making. But this is the feeling the book gives the reader. The work leaves something to be said about psychology, biology, and unexplainable irrationality. From the overly confident preface to the under-scrutinized assertions made throughout the remaining chapters (i.e. global warming can be solved cheaply using an obscure model), the authors seem to have substituted intellectual humility for academic swagger.

In the end, the question remains whether Levitt and Dubner's new work is absolutely necessary. Yes, economical research is beneficial to gaining knowledge on the human condition, but when it comes to producing a non-fiction shelf-buster, once the theories have been established, everything else is just showing off. But as far as boasts go, Superfreakonomics is a far cry from dull and a farther cry from conventional. It is indeed a freak.