More money, more problems

Most rich countries had a drastic fall in crime rates in the early to mid 1990s. This decrease in crime seemed inexplicable.The theories run from an “aging population, higher incarceration and immigration rates, less exposure to lead paint, better police tactics…” the list goes on and on. Freakonomics even contains a chapter on the possible linkage between Roe v. Wade (1972), increases in abortions, and the reduction of crime; the reduction of children being born into poor circumstances being the reason for this abrupt (and welcomed) reduction in crime. The reasons all come with their fair share of anecdotes, but Continue reading More money, more problems

Getting it out of your System

I stumbled upon this interesting Freakonomics podcast that discusses the effects of video games and the internet. Dubner and Levitt would like to argue that playing video games may reduce the level of outward violence seen in adolescent males. This may happen because they are “getting it out of their system” by playing a violent game. If an adolescent boy (as the example goes in the podcast) is playing video games, then he cannot be out doing anything else, including violent crimes. The extreme case is that the child does not have time to commit any violent crime. The podcast Continue reading Getting it out of your System