When to Rob a Bank: ...And 131 More Warped Suggestions and Well-Intended Rants
Page 28
discrimination in, 173
of food, 116
of gas, 86–90
for hate mail, 49–51
housing, 67–69
of kiwifruits, 77–80
peak oil, 109–16
of a penny, 61–65
of prescription drugs, 52–54
rising, 110, 111
of shrimp, 344
of songs, 69–71
and substitutes, 113
supply and demand, 78–80, 110, 112, 115, 128, 341–44
of voices in animated films, 306
priming, 228–29
principal-agent problem, 209
Prius Effect, 185
procrastination, 121
profits, going green for, 172–74
pro-life movement, 65
prostitution:
Berlin brothel, 173
escort service, 261–67
legalization of, 255–56, 265–67
race:
in the marketplace, 315–22
TV viewing habits, 322–24
rain forest, saving, 174–75
randomization, 322
rational addictions, 92–94
Reeve, Christopher, 102
Reilly, Barry, 225–26
Rickman, Neil, 225–26
RICO (federal racketeering statutes), 232
Rios, Brandon, 72
risk-aversion, 125–27
risk-taking, 121
Rochambeau (Rock, Paper, Scissors), 188–89
Rodriguez, Alex, 149
Roethlisberger, Ben, 103
Roe v. Wade, 288
Romer, David, 208
Rooney family, 214
Rose, Charlie, 274
Rose, Pete, 80–81
Rossi, Martin, 33–34
Rossotti, Charles O., 12
Rubinstein, Yona, 9–10
rugby, blood injuries in, 148–49
Sadoff, Sally, 338
Saffer, Henry, 116
Sandusky, Jerry, 121
satisfaction, 122–23
scientific ideas, legitimacy of, 123
security overkill, 106–7
security screening, 108–9
self-consciousness, 123–24
self-reporting, 137–40
INS Form N-400, 237–38
Seltzer, Margaret, 146
Sen, Amartya, 336–37
September 11 attacks, 212–13, 252
sex:
casual, 261
high-end call girl, 261–67
more, 259–61
prostitution, 255–56, 265–67
tax on, 256–59
Sexton, Alison and Steve, 184–85
shark attacks, 113
Shin-Yi Chou, 116
shrimp, 341–44
Siberry, Jane, 69–71
Silvertooth, Eugene “Chip,” 47
Simmons, Matthew, 114–16
Simon, Julian, 114
60 Minutes, 61–62
skin color, in the marketplace, 319–22
Smith, Adam, 315
Smith, Noah, 26–27
soccer, 209, 211, 212, 256
Somali pirates, 314–19
songs, prices of, 69–71
specialization, efficiency of, 172
sports:
autographed baseballs, 80–81
betting on teams, 125–26
bowling, 204–6
cheating in, 148–50
doping, 151–52, 153
football, 206–9, 212–19, 239–41
golf, 198–204
home field advantage, 209–12
horseback riding, 101–3
horse racing, 191, 220–22
loss aversion, 206–9
players carrying concealed weapons, 240–41
soccer, 209, 211, 212, 256
steroids, 152–53
taxes on athletes’ incomes, 72–74
statistics:
and medicine, 280–82
misinterpretation of, 345
Stein, Luke, 320–22
Steinem, Gloria, 51
Stenger, Victor, 286
steroids, 152–53
Stevenson, Betsey, 344–47
Stewart, Jon, 273–74
Stewart, M. R., 38–39
stock markets, capitalization of, 67
strangers, fear of, 130–33
street gangs, 229–36, 246–47, 248–49
street handouts, 328–37
Stubbs, Bob, 46
subjectivity, 170
Sullenberger, Chesley “Sully,” 82–83
SuperFreakonomics (Levitt & Dubner), 54, 101, 105, 119, 121, 261
supply and demand, 78–80, 110, 112, 115, 128, 341–44
Swift, Jonathan, 258–59
Taleb, Nassim Nicholas, 329, 334–37
tax code, 159–60
taxes:
on athletes’ incomes, 72–74
cheating on, 158–60
on sex, 256–59
war on, 11–14
Taylor, Brian, 253
Taylor, Sean, 241
teachers, cheating by, 103–4, 160–61
Tejada, Miguel, 149
tenure, 16–19
Terrible Towel, 215
terrorism, 5–11, 108–9, 252
Thaler, Richard, 68, 308–9
Think Like a Freak (Levitt & Dubner), 26, 27
350.org, 178–84
ticketless travel, 141
Tierney, John, 114–16
Tinker, David, 40
tipping, and flight attendants, 19–20
Tomlin, Mike, 218
tooth decay, 275–76
Tour de France, 151–52
Travolta, John, 306
Tropicana, 174–75
TSA, 5–6, 11, 108–9, 251–53
Tversky, Amos, 206
TV viewing habits, 322–24
Twitter contest, 94–96
umbrellas, dangers of, 108–9
United States, six-word motto for, 96–99
Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), 129–30
US Airways flight 1549, 82–83
Veblen, Thorstein, 184
veganism, 179–84
Velde, François, 62
Venkatesh, Sudhir, 229–36, 246–47
Vermeil, Dick, 207–8
Virgin Mobile, 63–64
voting mechanisms, 29–31
wages:
and markets, 24, 25
of politicians, 32–36
and quality of applicants, 34
walking drunk, 101
Wayne (middle name), 38–40
Weber, Christopher L., 171, 172
Weller, Mark, 62–63
Werner, James, 40
Wertheim, Jon, 209–12
Weyl, Glen, 30–31
White, Byron “Whizzer,” 214
Williams, Tom, 148–49
Wilson, A.N., 282
Winfrey, Oprah, 51
Wire, The, 229–33
Witt, Robert, 225–26
Wolf, Cyril, 51–53
Wolfers, Justin, 344–47
women:
feminist movement, 346–47
and happiness, 344–47
work:
incentives in, 339–40
leisure vs., 168
World Preservation Foundation, 179–82, 192–95
World Series of Poker, 187–88, 192–95
Worthy, Paige, 44–45
Zelinsky, Aaron, 152–53
About the Authors
STEVEN D. LEVITT, a professor of economics at the University of Chicago, was awarded the John Bates Clark medal, given to the most influential American economist under forty. He is also a founder of The Greatest Good, which applies Freakonomics-style thinking to business and philanthropy.
STEPHEN J. DUBNER is an award-winning author, journalist, and radio and TV personality. He quit his first career—as an almost rock star—to become a writer. He has since taught English at Columbia, worked for The New York Ti
mes, and published three non-Freakonomics books.
WWW.FREAKONOMICS.COM
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Also by Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner
FREAKONOMICS
A Rogue Economist Explores
the Hidden Side of Everything
SUPERFREAKONOMICS
Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes, and
Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance
SUPERFREAKONOMICS
The Deluxe, Super-Illustrated Edition
THINK LIKE A FREAK
The Authors of Freakonomics Offer to Retrain Your Brain
Also by Stephen J. Dubner
TURBULENT SOULS
A Catholic Son’s Return to His Jewish Family
Also published as
CHOOSING MY RELIGION
A Memoir of a Family Beyond Belief
CONFESSIONS OF A HERO-WORSHIPER
THE BOY WITH TWO BELLY BUTTONS
Credits
Illustration on title page and half title pages, ©Justin Baker/ImageZoo/Corbis.
Copyright
WHEN TO ROB A BANK. Copyright © 2015 by Steven D. Levitt and Dubner Productions, LLC. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
FIRST EDITION
ISBN 978-0-06-238532-1
ISBN 978-0-06-240533-3 (international edition)
EPub Edition MAY 2015 ISBN 9780062218322
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