1. The study of economics based upon the priniciple of incentives. Occasionally suggests theories that reactionaries find offensive, such as the notion that legalized abortion reduces crime rates.
2. A book defining the above, co-authored by Levitt and Dubner
Wow, I never thought of that before
by Blah #5 June 5, 2005
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Freak Economics: a clever meldword coined by authors Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubnerin in their 2005 book 'Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything'. It's economics based on conventional wisdom and not-so-familiar marriage of apparently different factors, people...etc brought together to make business and profit from that oxymoronic combination.
Similiar new economic ventures like freakonomics into the weird and unfamiliar are:
-fiasconomics: study of the rules that govern Sod's Law or what's known as Murphy's Law or Finagle's Law!
-chronomics: coined by Dr. Michael Schuller to mean the study of the laws that govern time in economy and its effect on productivity. Also called bionomics/ time-marketing.
-aeonomics: related closely to the latter and it's the study of economic problems caused by future immortal existence envisioned by Extropians and 'immortalsits'! (ref. arch-anarchy). Also called 'exconomics'.
-neuronomics/ nuerolonomics: neurological economics or neurology-based economy/ neuroeconomics/ neuromarketing...
by hammer---;, hytham May 3, 2007
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Statistical facts or other scholarly information that makes people uncomfortable when they read it or hear it. Freakonomics Truth often causes great consternation and denial in the listener or reader who is so shocked by what they have just discovered, that they try to avoid learning about similar information in the future.
Mass abortion among unmarried, low income women after the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973 led to a significant reduction in violent crime in the United States in the 1990s and 2000s, because many of the children who would have become violent criminals were never born. Many devoutly religious people don't like to hear 'Freakonomics Truth' because it flies in the face of everything they have been brought up to believe. 'Freakonomics Truth' reminds us of how dark and ugly life often is.
by Frank Sandpaper April 27, 2013
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