Fraters Libertas

Of Ralph Rapson and High Class Hos

Just past the halfway point of the book and I'm very much enjoying Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner. You may recall that Levitt was the economist who incurred the wrath of both liberals and conservatives with his theory that one of the major factors in the dramatic decrease in crime in the '90s was the 1973 decision by the Supreme Court to legalize abortion. He explains the arguments that back up that position and many others that challenge the conventional wisdom in "Freakanomics." Definitely worth a read.

This passage in a chapter about why drug dealers live with their mothers caught my attention:

The delicate balance between these factors helps explain why, for instance, the typical prostitute earns more than the typical architect. It may not seem as though she should. The architect would appear to be more skilled (as the word is usually defined) and better educated (again, as usually defined). But little girls don't grow up dreaming of becoming prostitutes, so the supply of potential prostitutes is relatively small. Their skills, while not necessarily "specialized," are practiced in a very specialized context. The job is unpleasant and forbidding in at least two significant ways: the likelihood of violence and the lost opportunity of having a stable family life. As for demand? Let's just say that an architect is more likely to hire a prostitute than vice versa.