Freakonomics | Study Guide

Although economics has long been defined as "the study of creating, using, and transferring wealth," its principles apply to a variety of questions regarding the workings and power of incentives, or items that inspire particular human actions. From why sumo wrestlers or teachers may cheat to how much parents influence their children's lives, the authors show how incentives play surprising and nuanced roles in people's lives. The authors also focus on conventional wisdom and causal relations, both of which may surprise readers with regard to error and the distances between seeming causes and effects.