Steven Levitt

Steven Levitt is an economist, professor, and author, best known for his work on the popular New York Times bestseller Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything. His book has been met with widespread acclaim, winning him numerous awards and helping him to shape an entire field of study all its own.

Levitt received his undergraduate degree in economics from Harvard University before heading off to the University of Chicago to pursue a Ph.D. in economics. At the University of Chicago, he met his Freakonomics co-author Stephen Dubner, who he remained closely connected with during the writing of the book.

Freakonomics is the first of Levitt’s two major works, in which the authors explore the hidden side of everyday observations and events. In it, the authors break down complex relationships and provide an interesting perspective on various occurrences. Freakonomics tackles topics as diverse as causation and correlation, moral dilemmas, and incentives, offering economic theories to explain different phenomena.

Levitt’s other major work, Think Like a Freak: The Authors of Freakonomics Offer to Retrain Your Brain, is itself an expansion on Freakonomics. In the book, Levitt and Dubner take the ideas of their first book a step further by teaching readers the mental approaches needed to comprehend the data and patterns of everyday life that can be used to answer questions such as how to motivate people, how to set prices, and why crime is decreasing.

Levitt is also the author of several academic papers, many of which focus on similar topics as his books. These include things such as revisiting the Roy Model, examining teacher response to financial incentives, and analysing incentives of criminal behaviour. He has also been an active researcher, working with institutions such as the National Bureau of Economic Research and the California Institute of Technology.

In addition to his works as an author and researcher, Levitt is also an educator. He has taught courses at the University of Chicago, the University of Zurich, and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He has also held the rank of professor at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and been the director of the Becker Friedman Institute at the University of Chicago.

Steven Levitt is an accomplished author, researcher, and educator whose works have had a lasting influence on economics, business, and popular culture. His gripping writing style and thoughtful analyses are paired with an enviable expertise in the field, making his works valuable resources for anyone interested in gaining greater insight into economics and its effects on the world.