The Dismal Science's Freaky Side?

Kuni Tetsu kuni_tetsu at yahoo.com
Sat Mar 11 16:11:02 EST 2006


On Sat, Mar 11, 2006 at 09:40:50AM -0800, Kuni Tetsu wrote:
> Um. That is not the sum total. Freakonomics is hardly real science, let alone
> good data. Yes, I have read it. I have also read what real economists thing
> about it. That is a whole other thread and I will not bring it in here.

Here is something you will not see much on the Internet...

I spoke out of turn on Freakonomics. It is data, and certainly entertainingly
presented. It is not always complete but certainly puts new spins on some
subjects. There are factors that were not taken into account on many of the
conclusions made, which was the point I was trying to make and bungled badly.

A number of economists have pointed out flaws in the Abortion related
conclusions you used.

"Mr. Foote, 40, taught in Harvard's economics department between 1996 and 2002;
served stints as an economist on the Council of Economic Advisers in 1994,
1995, 2002 and 2003; and served as an economic adviser to the Coalition
Provisional Authority in Baghdad, Iraq, in 2003 and 2004."

"Economists John Lott and John Whitley questioned Levitt’s data and his
conclusions. Steve Sailer, following their lead, argued that legalized abortion
actually raised the number of unwanted conceptions (thus canceling Roe’s
impact on unwanted live births)..."

But this is all for another list.

Cheers!


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