Monday, January 14, 2008

Real world...

Steven Levitt is a big star. Among his famous articles are those analyzing gang members selling drugs and cheating among Sumo wrestlers. See his list of papers for much more.
One would expect that you cannot get more astounding. Well, you would be wrong. His latest paper analyzes prostitution in Chicago. Results are, as usual, surprising. Condoms are rarely used (25%), yearly wage is about $20,000 (I guess they should have a union to reduce supply) and pimps are, in fact, a good thing for the prostitutes. Police seems to look away if you give them a freebie. But the craziest part is at the very end. I have to quote, because this is just unbelievable.
Last client's report "revenue $200, father & son; inside client's house while mother watched and masturbated".
Well, Levitt may be a superstar, but I have serious doubts about his data. Or about this world.

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