Freakonomics

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Freakonomics The Hidden Side of Everything http://www.freakonomics.com Sun, 27 May 2012 19:56:56 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://www.freakonomics.com/wp-content/plugins/powerpress/rss_default.jpg Freakonomics http://www.freakonomics.com The Hidden Side of Everything The Busara Center http://www.freakonomics.com/2012/05/25/the-busara-center/ Behavioral economics has a new testing ground: the Busara Center for Behavioral Economics in Nairobi, Kenya. The lab, which will be open to researchers and students from around the world, is hosted by <a href="http://www.poverty-action.org/" target="_blank">Innovations for Poverty Action</a> (IPA). Here's its <a href="http://www.busaracenter.org/" target="_blank">website blurb</a>:<blockquote>Busara is a state-of-the-art facility for experimental studies in behavioral economics and other social sciences, located in Nairobi, Kenya. The core of Busara is a pool of participants from the Nairobi slums, combined with a cluster of 20 networked computers with which researchers can investigate economic behavior and preferences. A central feature of the computer setup is that all computers have touchscreen monitors; together with specially developed paradigms, this allows for the participation of not only computer-illiterate, but entirely illiterate populations.</blockquote><a href="http://web.mit.edu/joha/www/" target="_blank">Johannes Haushofer</a>, the Scientific Director of the Center, gave us a little more information: Fri, 25 May 2012 12:02:22 +0100 http://www.freakonomics.com/2012/05/25/the-busara-center/ FREAKest Links http://www.freakonomics.com/2012/05/25/freakest-links/ 1. Why are <a href="http://priceonomics.com/televisions/#television-prices" target="_blank">used TVs</a> so expensive? 2. A New York Times Opinionator piece <a href="http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/17/how-reliable-are-the-social-sciences/" target="_blank">questions the reliability</a> of social sciences. 3. Does <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/22/us-psychology-financial-idUSBRE84K1AE20120522?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews&rpc=935" target="_blank">sweating</a> give away how you'll play the Ultimatum game? 4. Does eating organic <a href="http://www.psmag.com/health/get-stressed-stop-organics-become-a-better-person-42314/" target="_blank">make you a jerk</a>? 5. New study says <a href="http://scitechdaily.com/obesity-affects-one-third-of-us-homeless/" target="_blank">obesity affects one-third of homeless</a>. 6. Can <a href="http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/four_ways_happiness_can_hurt_you" target="_blank">happiness be bad</a> sometimes? 7. Is coffee <a href="http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1112010?query=TOC" target="_blank">inversely related to death</a>? Fri, 25 May 2012 10:24:04 +0100 http://www.freakonomics.com/2012/05/25/freakest-links/ Are Voters Just Rooting for Clothes? http://www.freakonomics.com/2012/05/24/are-voters-just-rooting-for-clothes/ Matthew Yglesias <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2012/05/22/maybe_rich_people_don_t_like_obama_because_he_wants_to_raise_their_taxes_substantially.html">recently noted</a> that the very rich are unhappy with President Obama because he would like to increase the taxes on the very rich. Although this might be true, the number of people unhappy with Obama exceeds the number of people who comprise the very rich. So why are many of the non-rich unhappy with Obama? And why are so many other people quite happy with our current president? Perhaps the answer is similar to a story frequently told about sports fans.Back in the early 1990s, a friend of mine declared his hatred of Charles Barkley. At the time, Sir Charles was an All-Star for the Philadelphia 76ers. Sometime after this declaration, though, Barkley was traded to the Phoenix Suns. As a fan of the Suns, my friend changed his tune. With Sir Charles in Phoenix, my friend was now a fan of Barkley.More recently, LeBron James was an extremely popular athlete in Cleveland. But when he changed his uniform to something from Miami, his popularity in Ohio plummeted. These stories are not uncommon among sports fans. In fact, Jerry Seinfeld once observed that fans who behave like this are essentially “rooting for clothes.” Thu, 24 May 2012 12:28:36 +0100 http://www.freakonomics.com/2012/05/24/are-voters-just-rooting-for-clothes/ You Eat What You Are, Part 1: A New Freakonomics Radio Podcast http://www.freakonomics.com/2012/05/24/you-eat-what-you-are-part-1-a-new-freakonomics-radio-podcast/ Our latest Freakonomics Radio podcast is called “You Eat What You Are, Part 1" (Download/subscribe at <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/podcast/freakonomics-radio/id354668519" target="_blank">iTunes</a>, get the <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/freakonomicsradio" target="_blank">RSS feed</a>, listen via the media player above, or read the transcript below.)It's about how American food got so bad, how it's begun to get much better in recent years, and who has the answers for further improvement.We begin at <a href="http://www.grownyc.org/unionsquaregreenmarket" target="_blank">Union Square Green Market</a> in New York City, a rustic oasis in the heart of the city, where <a href="http://www.berkshireberries.com/" target="_blank">Berkshire Berries</a> has wonderful jams, <a href="http://windfallfarm.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Windfall Farms</a> offers a cornucopia of greens, and <a href="http://www.hudsonvalleyduckfarm.com/blog/" target="_blank">Hudson Valley Duck Farm</a> does all kinds of things with the modest duck. We also channel John McPhee and his wonderful essay <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0374516006/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=freakonomic08-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0374516006">"Giving Good Weight."</a>But how much can the farmer's market solve America's food problems? Thu, 24 May 2012 09:32:30 +0100 http://www.freakonomics.com/2012/05/24/you-eat-what-you-are-part-1-a-new-freakonomics-radio-podcast/ Men, Women, and Taxi Fare http://www.freakonomics.com/2012/05/23/men-women-and-taxi-fare/ A <a href="http://papers.nber.org/papers/w18093?utm_campaign=ntw&utm_medium=email&utm_source=ntw" target="_blank">study on the taxi market</a> in Lima, Peru examines price differences between men and women. Taxi prices in Lima are set by bargaining, and the market of sellers is extremely competitive. The authors initially found, surprisingly, that "men face higher initial prices and rejection rates."However, when the experiment was performed again with a strategic move, the discrimination disappeared:<blockquote>Passengers in this study begin by rejecting a first taxi to send a signal of low valuation to a second (waiting) taxi which they then negotiate with. Despite passengers otherwise using an identical bargaining script, we find that negotiated outcomes at the second taxi are gender blind. The second taxi treats men and women the same.</blockquote> Wed, 23 May 2012 13:28:32 +0100 http://www.freakonomics.com/2012/05/23/men-women-and-taxi-fare/ Why Do American Women Work More Than Europeans? http://www.freakonomics.com/2012/05/23/why-do-american-women-work-more-than-europeans/ Economists <a href="http://herc.cox.smu.edu/" target="_blank">Indraneel Chakraborty</a> and <a href="http://economics.sas.upenn.edu/~hanshol/jobmarket.html" target="_blank">Hans Holter</a> have <a href="http://www.voxeu.org/index.php?q=node/8007" target="_blank">an explanation</a> for all those extra hours Americans work as compared to Europeans: divorce rates (and tax rates) Here's their theory:<blockquote>We believe this is because marriage provides an implicit social insurance since the spouses are able to share their income. However, if divorce rates are higher in a society, women have a higher incentive to obtain work experience in case they find themselves alone in the future. The reason the incentive is higher is because in our data, women happen to be the second earner in the household more often than men. European women anticipate not getting divorced as often and hence find less reason to insure themselves by working as much as American women.</blockquote>Chakraborty and Holter use U.S data to run a model testing their theory; their findings are interesting: Wed, 23 May 2012 11:34:39 +0100 http://www.freakonomics.com/2012/05/23/why-do-american-women-work-more-than-europeans/ Hope and Poverty http://www.freakonomics.com/2012/05/23/hope-and-poverty/ Is there a role for hope in poverty alleviation programs? According to <a href="http://www.economist.com/node/21554506" target="_blank">a recent speech</a> by economist <a href="http://www.freakonomics.com/2010/04/26/esther-duflo-wins-john-bates-clark-medal/">Esther Duflo</a>, there is. Duflo looked at a BRAC program in West Bengal; program participants were given a "small productive asset" (a cow, a goat, or some chickens) and a small stipend to encourage participants not to immediately eat the animal. The results were significant:<blockquote>Well after the financial help and hand-holding had stopped, the families of those who had been randomly chosen for the BRAC programme were eating 15% more, earning 20% more each month and skipping fewer meals than people in a comparison group. They were also saving a lot. The effects were so large and persistent that they could not be attributed to the direct effects of the grants: people could not have sold enough milk, eggs or meat to explain the income gains. Nor were they simply selling the assets (although some did).</blockquote> Wed, 23 May 2012 09:57:45 +0100 http://www.freakonomics.com/2012/05/23/hope-and-poverty/ Introducing the Freakonomics Podcast Archive http://www.freakonomics.com/2012/05/22/introducing-the-freakonomics-podcast-archive/ When we <a href="http://www.freakonomics.com/2010/02/04/introducing-freakonomics-radio-a-podcast-about-the-hidden-side-of-everything/">began our Freakonomics Radio podcast</a> back in early 2010, it was something between a lark and an experiment. But we have produced 75 episodes by now, so it seemed time to gather all the episodes in one place. Here's our new <a href="http://www.freakonomics.com/radio/freakonomics-radio-podcast-archive/">Freakonomics Podcast Archive</a>, color-coded for your convenience to denote our three types of content: original podcasts (usually between 20 and 30 minutes long); our <a href="http://www.marketplace.org/topics/business/freakonomics-radio">regular Marketplace segments</a> (5 or 6 minutes long); and our 1-hour specials that air on <a href="http://www.freakonomics.com/2012/01/18/where-to-find-freakonomics-radio-on-a-station-near-you/">public-radio stations across the country</a>. Among our most popular podcasts to date: “<a href="http://www.freakonomics.com/2010/12/16/freakonomics-radio-do-more-expensive-wines-taste-better/">Do More Expensive Wines Taste Better?</a>” and “<a href="http://www.freakonomics.com/2010/11/04/freakonomics-radio-how-much-does-the-president-really-matter/">How Much Does the President of the U.S. Really Matter?</a>”You can of course subscribe <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=354668519" target="_blank">via iTunes</a> (where Freakonomics Radio occasionally <a href="http://www.freakonomics.com/2011/08/26/freakonomics-radio-hits-no-1-on-itunes/">hits the No. 1 ranking</a>) or listen via our <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/freakonomicsradio" target="_blank">RSS feed</a>.Hope you enjoy; feedback welcome.  Tue, 22 May 2012 14:28:08 +0100 http://www.freakonomics.com/2012/05/22/introducing-the-freakonomics-podcast-archive/ How Does It Feel to Get Booed? http://www.freakonomics.com/2012/05/22/how-does-it-feel-to-get-booed/ If you remember our podcast "<a href="http://www.freakonomics.com/2011/11/10/boo-who-a-new-freakonomics-radio-podcast/">Boo...Who?"</a> (which was included in the hour-long special "<a href="http://www.freakonomics.com/2012/03/15/show-and-yell-a-new-freakonomics-radio-podcast/">Show and Yell</a>"), you'll know we love the topic of booing. David Herman, our sound engineer at Freakonomics Radio, experienced some first-hand booing last week. He wrote it up as a guest post: How Does It Feel to Get Booed?By David HermanLast weekend, I visited the <a href="http://www.thebellhouseny.com/">Bell House</a> in Brooklyn to hear the <a href="http://www.thebudos.com/">Budos Band</a>, an afrobeat-inspired 10-piece instrumental group from Staten Island. According to the <a href="http://www.ticketweb.com/t3/sale/SaleEventDetail?dispatch=loadSelectionData&eventId=4389805&pl=bellpl">venue’s online ticket page</a>, the show was slated to start at 9:00 PM. But 9:00 came and went, and then 10:00… 10:30… Granted, I’ve come to accept that no band will ever go on less than 30 minutes late, but this seemed to be pushing the bounds of good taste. At about 10:45, the band made its way onstage from the wings. The (sold-out) house was packed with around 300 people, each of whom had paid $15 plus drinks. So as soon as the group got into position, almost two hours late, what happened? "BOOOOOO!" Tue, 22 May 2012 12:02:31 +0100 http://www.freakonomics.com/2012/05/22/how-does-it-feel-to-get-booed/ The Advantages of Looking “Trustworthy” http://www.freakonomics.com/2012/05/22/the-advantages-of-looking-trustworthy/ We've <a href="http://www.freakonomics.com/2011/11/15/hamermesh-on-the-daily-show-ugly-people/">blogged</a> <a href="http://www.freakonomics.com/2011/08/18/dan-hamermesh-answers-your-questions-about-beauty-pays/">before</a> about the many advantages of being beautiful. <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/05/120515094134.htm" target="_blank">New research</a> indicates that looking "trustworthy" carries some benefits as well:<blockquote>In a paper recently published in the PLoS One journal, researchers from Warwick Business School, the University College London and Dartmouth College, USA, carried out a series of experiments to see if people made decisions to trust others based on their faces.They found people are more likely to invest money in someone whose face is generally perceived as trustworthy, even when they are given negative information about this person's reputation.</blockquote>"Trustworthiness is one of the most important traits for social and economic interactions and our study examines whether people take potentially costly actions in line with their face-based trustworthiness judgments," said Dr. Chris Olivola, one of the study's authors. "It seems we are still willing to go with our own instincts about whether we think someone looks like we can trust them."Now the only trick is for people who aren't in fact trustworthy at all to appear as if they are. Or, as it's been <a href="http://www.quotationspage.com/quotes/Jean_Giraudoux/">said before</a>: Once you can fake sincerity, you've got it made.(HT: <a href="http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/">Naked Capitalism</a>) Tue, 22 May 2012 09:58:52 +0100 http://www.freakonomics.com/2012/05/22/the-advantages-of-looking-trustworthy/