When To Rob A Bank: ...And 131 More Warped Suggestions and Well-Intended Rants - Hardcover

Levitt, Steven D.; Dubner, Stephen J.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1443442070 ISBN 13: 9781443442077

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers, 2015

Synopsis

Why do educated women get fewer responses on online dating websites? Is buying local food economically efficient? Does bribing kids improve their performance on school tests?

Steven Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, the quirky geniuses behind Freakonomics, SuperFreakonomics and Think Like a Freak, are back at it. For the last ten years, they’ve used the tools of economics to answer some of our most unanswerable questions on the Freakonomics.com blog. Here, for the first time, the very best of their more than 8,000 posts are together in a single place. We learn why it’s so hard to predict the Kentucky Derby, why babies born in summer tend to score lower on standardized tests, and why rich people tend to be happier than poor people, but rich countries no happier than poor ones. When to Rob a Bank showcases the brilliance that has made Levitt and Dubner an international sensation, and the eloquence and wit that has always made them such a joy to read.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

Surprising and erudite, eloquent and witty, When to Rob a Bank demonstrates the brilliance that has made the Freakonomics guys an international sensation, with more than 7 million books sold in 40 languages, and 200 million downloads of their Freakonomics Radio podcast.

When to Rob a Bank is Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner’s curated collection from the most readable economics blog in the universe. Drawn from 10 years of entries on Freakonomics.com, where they employ a style that is more casual, more personal, and more outlandish than in their books, they answer such questions as: Why don’t flight attendants get tipped? If you were a terrorist, how would you attack? And why does KFC always run out of fried chicken?

You’ll discover:

• What people lie about, and why
• The best way to cut gun deaths
• Why it might be time for a sex tax
• And yes, when to rob a bank (Short answer: never; the R.O.I. is terrible)

You’ll also learn a great deal about Levitt and Dubner’s own quirks and passions, from gambling and golf to backgammon and the abolition of the penny.

About the Author:

STEVEN 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 Times and published three non-Freakonomics books.

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 the age of 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 worked for The New York Times and published three non-Freakonomics books. He lives with his family in New York City.

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1443442070
• ISBN 13: 9781443442077
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 400