“People respond to incentives, although not necessarily in ways that are predictable or manifest,” write Levitt and Dubner in their new book Superfreakonomics.  “Therefore, one of the most powerful laws in the universe is the law of unintended consequences.”

Their book, which is a sequel to their surprise bestseller Freakonomics, is a great series of case studies on unintended consequences and, on a higher level, understanding consumer behavior.   It’s surprisingly one of the funniest books I’ve read in years.  I found the book so entertaining, I pretty well put my life on hold this past weekend to finish reading it.  (My rapid reading of the book was, in itself, a beneficial unintended consequence of my recent buying of my Amazon Kindle.  The convenience of owning a Kindle has enabled me to read much faster and cover a lot more material.  Don’t underestimate the benefit of having a portable library in your briefcase.)

Some of the book’s chapters are better not mentioned in this blog (a large section of the book is dedicated to analyzing the economics of prostitution, calculating the marginal costs and benefits added by pimps, among other topics).

Below are some of the tamer subjects covered Read the rest of this entry »