EPISODE · Apr 23, 2026 · 1H 26M
The Economic Approach to Learning from Data
from Center for Advanced Studies (CAS) Research Focus Evidence Based Practice (LMU) - SD
Corruption among Japanese Sumo wrestlers, the relation between having a TV and fertility rates in India and the analysis of drug dealing gangs in Chicago – these are all topics for which one needs a second look to identify them as microeconomic questions which can be analyzed with the help of data. These are only but a few of everyday situations which Steven D. Levitt and the journalist Stephen J. Dubner illustrate in the books of the bestselling Freakonomics series. In his lecture Steven Levitt will lay out how data and (micro)economic reasoning can interact in order to analyze patterns that occur in everyday life or suggest (simple) solutions to (seemingly complex) problems. | Steven D. Levitt is Professor for economy at the University of Chicago and currently Visiting Fellow at CAS.
What this episode covers
Corruption among Japanese Sumo wrestlers, the relation between having a TV and fertility rates in India and the analysis of drug dealing gangs in Chicago – these are all topics for which one needs a second look to identify them as microeconomic questions which can be analyzed with the help of data. These are only but a few of everyday situations which Steven D. Levitt and the journalist Stephen J. Dubner illustrate in the books of the bestselling Freakonomics series. In his lecture Steven Levitt will lay out how data and (micro)economic reasoning can interact in order to analyze patterns that occur in everyday life or suggest (simple) solutions to (seemingly complex) problems. | Steven D. Levitt is Professor for economy at the University of Chicago and currently Visiting Fellow at CAS.
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The Economic Approach to Learning from Data
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