Econ/Gov
M. Hughes
Freakonomics: The Chapter of your Choice
Pick any of the chapters below that interest you (take a few minutes and read the table of contents to
ensure a good choice). Note: You may not do chapters 1 or 3, as we have already looked at them in
class together.
Due Date and Requirements
Each submission will be due at the beginning of class on Friday, January 11th, either printed out or
emailed to me (matt.hughes@animashighschool.com)
*** Each submission must include your name, the chapter you read, and the full text of the question
you are answering.
Grading Rubric:
Criterion
4
3
2
1
Grammar and Structure. To what extent is each sentence
proofread and crafted with care?
Content Engagement: To what extent do you thoroughly engage
in content the question demanded from you? Do you understand
the content in your chapter and demonstrate this in your answers?
Specifics: Did you get your assignment in on time, either printed
or emailed? Name, chapter read, and full text of each question?
If you choose chapter 2:
1. Write a brief summary of the chapter theme. This should be a short (several sentence)
summary of what the main point was, and how the authors intended to get that point across
to the readers.
2. Explain Stetson Kennedy’s role in the Klan’s ultimate decline in popularity in the South,
focusing on the role the dissemination of what the Klan believed was secret information
played in that process.
3. Explain what is meant by the term “information asymmetries” and give examples of
information asymmetries we encounter in everyday life.
4. What evidence do the authors offer to support their claim that real estate agents exploit
an information asymmetry to their client’s detriment? As more clients become aware of
the possibility of such behavior by agents, how might it affect the relationship between the two?
5. Explain how the choice of terms a real estate agent uses to describe a particular property
conveys additional information about the property, and hence the price a potential buyer
might be able to successfully offer the seller.
6. Assuming many of the people who use Internet dating sites are not being truthful when they
describe themselves, what could motivate them to do so, knowing that if they ever actually
met a date face-to-face, the truth would likely come out?
Econ/Gov
M. Hughes
If you choose chapter 4:
Write a brief summary of the problem the authors are trying to solve. This should be a short (several
sentence) summary of what the main point is, and how the authors intend to get that point across to the
readers.
1. Why did Ceaucescu think that banning abortion would help the economy? Did it work? Why or
why not? Provide an economic explanation for the change that occurred.
2. What rationale do some criminologists offer for the argument that imprisonment rates should be
lowered as part of the effort to reduce crime in the United States? Was their logic sound? If not,
what fallacy did they commit?
3. Summarize the findings of economist John R. Lott Jr. regarding the relationship between “right
to-carry” gun laws and crime. Have other scholars been able to produce similar findings? What
does this say about the reliability of Lott’s findings?
4. Summarize the argument by Donahue and Levitt regarding the relationship between the drop in
crime in the 1990s and the legalization of abortion as a result of Roe v. Wade. Your summary
should focus on such factors as the characteristics of the average criminal (e.g., average age, home
life), what happened in states that legalized abortion prior to the decision in Roe v. Wade, and the type
of woman who is likely to take advantage of Roe v. Wade.
If you choose chapter 5:
1. Why are parents more susceptible to “fearmongering” than other people?
2. What market forces give rise to parenting books that appeal to a parent’s fears and inadequacies
rather than books which present an objective and evenhanded articulation of the state-of-the-science of
good parenting?
3. When looking at statistical data over a period of time, what does “correlation” mean? How is
it different from “causation?”
4. Describe, in general terms, the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS)? Who conducted it,
who was the target of the study, and what was the purpose of the study?
5. According to the data in this chapter, what are the main differences between a school which
overwhelmingly has black students versus a school which overwhelmingly has white students?
6. According to the data developed from the ECLS, having lots of books in the home is correlated
with higher scores on a child’s tests, reading to the child nearly every day is not. If a parent were only
interested in having his or her child achieve higher scores on standardize tests, what would you imagine
his or her benefit/cost considerations to be when it came to the purchase of books and this use of his or
her time?
If you choose chapter 6...
1. What do the experiences of Winner Lane, Loser Lane, and Temptress tell us about the likely
relationship between a child’s name and his/her prospects for success in life? Are these examples
sufficient for us to draw any definitive conclusions? Why or why not?
2. Summarize the characteristics of a black parent who is most likely to give his/her child
a distinctively black name.
3. Explain what Roland G. Fryer was trying to get at when he decided to explore the following
question: is distinctive black culture a cause of the economic disparity between blacks and
Econ/Gov
M. Hughes
whites or merely a reflection of it?
4. According to the analysis of the California names data, does a person with a distinctively black
name have, on average, a worse life outcome than a person with a distinctively white name?
If so, is it the fault of the name? If not, explain what the data are telling us.
5. Is there a discernible pattern in how certain names move through the population over time?
If so, describe it.