American economist and author Steven Levitt will discuss "Superfreakonmics" during his visit to the Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum on Thursday, Oct. 22. Levitt is the author of the bestselling book, Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything (2005), and winner of the highly esteemed John Bates Clark Medal, as the most influential economist in America under the age of 40. The public portion of the program begins at 6:45 p.m., with free seating on a first-come basis. A book signing will follow.
Levitt, who in 2006 was one of Time magazine's 100 People who Have Shaped the Last 100 Years (Levitt was included in the "scientists and thinkers" category), not only discusses the financial crisis in simple terms, but works with businesses to apply his Freakonomics approach (combining data, economic theory, and unorthodox thinking) to the business world.
Superfreakonomics: Tales of Altruism, Terrorism, and Poorly Paid Prostitutes, the anticipated follow-up to Freakonomics, is scheduled to be released on Oct. 20, 2009, and will delve into the biggest issues of our time, such as healthcare, terrorism, global warming, the current financial crisis. Copies of Superfreakonomics will be available for sale and signing by the author following his lecture.
Levitt is also co-author of the popular Freakonomics Blog hosted exclusively on The New York Times Web site.
Levitt received his B.A. from Harvard University in 1989 and his Ph.D. from MIT in 1994. He is the William B. Ogden Distinguished Service Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago, where he has taught since 1997 and where he directs the Becker Center on Chicago Price Theory.
Levitt's visit to the CMC campus is jointly sponsored by the offices of the President, the Dean of the Faculty, The Robert Day School, the Lowe Institute of Political Economy, and the Athenaeum.