Alfred Marshall, one of the founding fathers of modern economics, believed that the discipline was meant to study the ordinary business of life. He understood that economics was not just about numbers and graphs, but about the fundamental questions that people face in their everyday lives. Questions such as how to pay bills, what career to pursue, how to handle illness, and whether retirement is a possibility – these were the questions that Marshall believed economics should seek to answer.
However, not everyone shares Marshall’s view of economics. Steven Levitt, an economist at the University of Chicago, has a different perspective on the subject. In a 2003 profile in the New York Times, Levitt expressed his belief that economics is a science with great tools for finding answers, but a lack of interesting questions. Levitt’s view is that economics should be focused on more unique and unconventional questions, rather than the traditional concerns of everyday life.
Levitt’s perspective led to the creation of “Freakonomics”, a book he co-authored with journalist Stephen Dubner. In this book, Levitt and Dubner explore a wide range of unexpected and thought-provoking topics, using economic principles to uncover the motivations behind human behavior. From cheating sumo wrestlers to minimum-wage-earning crack dealers to the Ku Klux Klan, the authors use unconventional examples to demonstrate how incentives drive people’s actions and decisions.
The contrast between Marshall’s view of economics as studying the ordinary business of life and Levitt’s view of economics as a science with a shortage of interesting questions highlights the diverse nature of the field. While Marshall sought to address practical, everyday issues, Levitt and Dubner use economics to delve into more complex and unexpected topics, shedding light on the underlying incentives and motivations that drive human behavior.
Despite these differing perspectives, both Marshall and Levitt recognize the importance of economics in understanding the world around us. Whether studying the basic principles of supply and demand or exploring the hidden motivations behind seemingly irrational decisions, economics offers a unique lens through which to view human behavior and society as a whole. By tackling both the ordinary and the extraordinary, economists like Marshall and Levitt contribute to a deeper understanding of the world and the people who inhabit it.
