Are economist Steven Levitt and writer Stephen Dubner the smartest guys in the room? Back in 2005, it looked as though they might be but familiarity with their incentive-based approach to phenomena that correlate murder stats/legalised abortion or student success/monetary bribes has bred a little contempt. The movie includes a new chapter on name games and zips along with nice graphic touches and talking street heads but feels decidedly random in places – and not quite equal to explaining the minefield of matrices called ‘economy’.
Freakonomics | Directed by Alex Gibney, Heidi Ewing (USA 2013), documentary.
Originally published in issue #120, October 2013.