superfreakonomics

In the past, we’ve been privileged enough to share commentary from author Stefan Fatsis. Drew and I have written shitty books, so I guess that counts too. Well, the proud tradition of published scribes visiting KSK continues today, with noted economists Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, the gentlemen behind Freakonomics and SuperFreakonomics.

To be perfectly frank, we aren’t very good at macroeconomics. We couldn’t tell you how to lift the country from its economic tribulations. That requires analyzing many moving parts and solving extremely involved calculations. Basically, the math is difficult and we don’t feel like doing it. But by using the best analytical tools of economics, we are able to ask provocative questions, ones that might reveal an answer that bucks the conventional wisdom. Often, such accepted notions achieve their status simply because they are comforting, if not entirely true. And that is the overarching theme of Freakonomics: asking the right question to reveal a hidden truth. Most of the time, these new truths won’t benefit you in your everyday life in any significant or even perceivable way, but c’mon – don’t you want a few arcane factoids to impress that leggy brunette at the bar?

Are NFL Players Saving Us By Driving Drunk?

It’s a question that arises all too often. We hear about an athlete getting a DUI or some other drunk driving related trouble, and incredulously we wonder how they could be so foolish. Often, we shrug our shoulders and chalk it up to the sheer hubris of athletes thinking they are above the law or even indestructible.

But could they actually be saving lives?

In general, professional athletes are laconic individuals and that’s even when they don’t have reason to be skeptical of the motives of two economists turned book writers. Also, a lot of them are black. And black people terrify us. These elements combine to complicate the data-collecting process, which in turns makes study of their habits next to impossible.

That’s why anytime we deal with something relating to black people we deploy that Indian guy with the PhD in sociology. He really seems to “get” them.

Venkatesh_Sudhir

As he did with the Chicago gang of drug dealers, Sudhir embedded himself within a tight-knit group of NFL players. To assure that his findings would not be altered by them changing their behavior because they knew they were the subjects of scholastic study, he promised to keep their identities secret.

One thing he found that probably comes as little surprise is that NFL players like to drink. And a lot at that. But he also discovered that when NFL players go out, they make a concerted effort to make sure as many people know about it as possible. They have agents and press people put the word out on Twitter and to radio stations. The result is obvious: a large crowd shows up to gawk at the famous athlete boozing it up in their midst.

So what? So there’s a big crowd to view the dumb oaf make a fool of himself? How does that change matters? Well, when comparing statistics on traffic fatalities in the towns where the athletes went out, it turns out it matters quite a bit. By pitting nights that an athlete announced their presence at a specific nightspot versus the condition on the same evening with no athlete out, the stats show the chance of a traffic and pedestrian related fatality fell nearly 15 percent on a night in which an athlete was out on the town. The reasoning was simple: the athlete drew enough people to that specific establishment so there were fewer people on the road than normal. That also means fewer targets for the drunk athlete when he leaves the club.

While any loss of life is always unfortunate, it can’t be denied that NFL players are actually saving lives when they go out on drunken benders. For every Donte Stallworth and Leonard Little situation, there are countless other lives that have been spared by these carousing athletes. But DUI cases and traffic related accidents are phenomena that are easily sensationalized by mass media, which are always eager to employ scare tactics with the public. Knowing what you know now, will you decry them in the future?