Summary: Freakonomics

This chapter's main idea is that the study of economics is the study of incentives. We find a differentiation between economic incentives, social incentives and moral incentives. Incentives are described in a funny way as "means of urging people to do more of a good thing or less of a bad thing", and in this chapter we find some examples –public school teachers in Chicago, sumo wrestling in Japan, take care center in Israel and Paul Feldman's bagel business – of how incentives drive people and most of the time the conventional wisdom turns to be "wrong" when incentives are in place.

In chapter one of Freakonomics, Stephen Dubner and Steven Levitt describe how when incentives are strong enough, many usually honest people from different walks of life will cheat in order to gain financially or climb the ladder in their careers. The authors define an incentive as “a means of urging people to do more of a good thing or less of a bad thing.” This chapter covers three varieties of incentives: Economic, Social and Moral. Economic incentives motivate people with the promise of money or goods. Social incentives motivate people to respond in a certain way because they care about how they will be viewed by others. Moral incentives motivate people on the basis of right and wrong. We look at four

More specifically, my background in economics has also established a fundamental knowledge of many financial theories and concepts, as well as proficiency with statistics and data analysis. My curiosity and eagerness to expand my financial acumen naturally led me to be actively involved and hold leadership positions in multiple extracurricular groups such as DePauw’s highly selective Investment Banking Workshop and the Investment Group. On top of this, I have been able to apply the skill set I have acquired in the classroom to professional settings through a variety of internships within the finance industry, including commercial banking, investment banking, and also for an institutional trading and risk management company. Exposure to different sectors in finance has not only furthered my interest in pursuing finance as a career but has also allowed me to develop important proficiencies in financial modeling and

Before attending this college and especially attending your class I would have said that my knowledge about the United States economy would be average at best. I knew my political views and what decisions I would like to see government officials make based on them, but I really did not know the different domino effects that could occur when only one economic decision is made.

By studying Economics at A-level, I was able to develop and widen my skills in essay writing, where I have learned to argue, analyse and evaluate. Whilst studying Economics I discovered the recession may cause crime rates to increase; reasons for this can be traced to an increase in unemployment which often leads to people being on the street rather than at work. In Business I was able to learn about legal laws affecting employment, race and sales of goods and services. I was able to explore what rules and regulations businesses must undertake in order to remain within the law. Similarly, in Finance I also learned about many types of law

When I was young I always heard touching toads would give you warts. This was presumed not because people are superstitious or arrogant but because there wasn't any other logical explanation. Toads have a wart like texture so it made sense to hypothesize that's how you got them as well, and other people never questioned other peoples believes. This is an example of conventional wisdom and how it can often be misleading and inaccurate. Conventional wisdom is the ideas that people accept as factual regardless of how truthful that statement is.

In the book Freakonomics, Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner note “An incentive is a bullet, a lever, a key: an often-tiny object with astonishing power to change a situation” (16). This is to showcase the amount of power an incentive can have over a person or a situation; either good or bad. Humans are found to use incentives when it comes to making daily decisions. Often, people need motives to proceed with their plans. Some tend to make either moral, social, or economic incentive. The moral incentive is about self-respect; keeping in check with what was taught to believe is right and wrong. The social incentive is how the public views the person; wanting to look good in front others. Economic incentive, however, would relate to monetary benefit. While all three incentives can affect people’s decisions, economic

Last friday’s socratic seminar for Freakonomics and world-wide issues was not as successful as it could be because many of the topics and questions that could have been discussed were neglected due to students, including me, not wanting to discuss the topic or focusing too much on another. I felt that the class was too passive due to the fact that this socratic seminar was a big circle involving the whole class. I think that it is a better option to go back to how the socratic seminar originally was, because students will feel more comfortable conversing with others and not be timid. My opinions regarding the issues stated by Freakonomics and occurring world-wide were reaffirmed as my classmate mentions their opinions which are similar to

My interest in business and economics began one winter break during junior year of high school. As I flipped through titles on Netflix, it was not a comedy nor an action-packed movie I landed upon, but rather the documentary Inequality for All. When it came time to choose classes for senior year, I jumped at the chance to take advanced placement micro and macroeconomics. Within the first week of attending class, my decision to study business economics was solidified.

I believe taking courses such as ECON 2101and ECON 2102 would broaden my understanding of the economic world, as well as improve my critical thinking ability. It would allow me to answer a broad range of exciting questions- like poverty and unemployment- and open the doors into a world where theory, math and data could be used to solve such problems. Moreover, the faculty

This interest was soon emphasized when I took AP economics in school, where I learned that this is the subject of my interest, and I would love to spend my life dealing with different aspects of economics. Whenever the teacher assigned homework, not only would I complete them immediately that night, but I would also watch

Being a double economics and mathematics major student at Union College shaped me to be an economic PhD candidate with strong academic backgrounds and various research experiences. I believe the economics PhD program at X not only trains my skills, but also helps me to explore the field I am interested in and motives me to approach it from different aspect. I am looking forward to extend and develop academic interests in global economic issues-the area of specialty in which I have concentrated my course work and research at Union.

When taking my first AP Macro class, I particularly noticed how the subject blended together concepts from history, mathematics, and business. Economics were a crossroads at which distinctly different educational materials met. Back then, this realization astounded me. I loved learning historical tidbits about how Keynes came up with his theories and simultaneously reapplying familiar math formulas to real-life economic dilemmas. The topics fused, my mind could see the big picture, freely gaining a thorough insight into the entangled economic world. However, while this academic concoction accelerated my learning, the alternative, observing my personal educational horizon through a narrow tunnel, resulted in a mental deterioration of ability.

The world we know revolves around two key essentials. In life, we can choose wisely to abide by the resources given or discard them. Understanding economics means you can understand the world. The power of money and knowledge leads to a future of success. In addition to success, life as we know becomes simple as we apply needed essentials that help escape from common struggles. In an effort to ensure financial success it is important that we pursue additional learning beyond our elementary experience, understand financial rankings and ensure the decisions we make will support us for a lifetime.

Every Monday and Wednesday, I attend my introductory macroeconomics class. Although I did take this course in high school and was able to place out of it in college, I decided to take it again because I really was fascinated by macroeconomic theory. The reason I never did poorly in economics was because I truly had a passion for understanding how a functioning economy can increase the standard of living for low and middle income families/individuals. By studying economics at Bucknell, I can understand how investments in women, children, infrastructure, and low/middle income families can end poverty, which is my ultimate goal. Studying global management would enable me to look at how political and economic forces shape our international system