this highly readable and challenging new work Which is more dangerous, a gun or a swimming pool? Which should be feared more: snakes or french fries? Who really deserves credit for the recent drop in crime? In this groundbreaking book, leading economist Steven Levitt—Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago and winner of the American Economic Association’s 2004 John Bates Clark medal for the economist under 40 who has made the greatest contribution to the discipline—reveals that the answers to such questions lie in economic theory, a field he is revolutionizing. Joined by acclaimed author Stephen J. Dubner, Levitt offers his most compelling ideas as he explores the basic questions of everyday life, reaching conclusions that have turned conventional wisdom on its head. Brilliantly reasoned, told in compelling, forthright language, and filled with keen insight, What Do Schoolteachers and Sumo Wrestlers Have in Common? remind us that economics is ultimately the study of incentives and competition—how people get what they want, or need, when others want or need the same thing.

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