"If Indiana Jones were an economist, he'd be Steven Levitt," said Steven E. Landsburg of The Wall Street Journal.
Best-selling author and award-winning economist Steven D. Levitt will be speaking at UB on Wednesday, Nov. 14, as part of this year's Distinguished Speaker Series.
Levitt is co-author of the best-selling book Freakonomics, which has been on The New York Times best-sellers list for two years and has sold over three million copies worldwide.
Many students feel that Levitt speaking at UB will enrich the range of speakers that have been featured in the Distinguished Speaker Series.
"It's really nice that UB has brought such a variety of speakers this year," said Devin Dunbar, a sophomore business major. "Michael Moore and Ishmael Beah have been great so far, and I expect that (Levitt) will be no less enlightening."
Levitt's book makes correlations between seemingly unrelated variables such as the similarities between teachers and sumo wrestlers, why drug dealers live with their mothers, and what the Ku Klux Klan and real estate agents have in common.
According to his Web site, Levitt uses economics and the concept of incentives to study everyday issues and challenge conventional wisdom.
Levitt's promoter, Harry Walker Agency Inc., describes him as "inspired by his extreme curiosity and incongruities he experiences in his daily life. He uses economics to explain many seemingly unexplainable effects found in the real world."
Levitt has won several awards for his work in economics including the John Bates Clark Medal in 2003, a biannual award given by the American Economic Association to the most influential American economist under the age of 40. He was also chosen as one of Time Magazine's 100 People Who Shape Our World in 2006.
Levitt is currently a professor of economics at the University of Chicago and is best known for his work on crime, especially the correlation between legalized abortion and crime rates.
Many students are looking forward to the upcoming event.
"I am so excited to go. I have my ticket already," said Lynlee Barbour, a sophomore psychology major.
A number of UB students haven't read Levitt's book, but they are anticipating the lecture nonetheless.
"I want to go see him but I think I should read (Freakonomics) before I do," said Jason Lubniewski, a freshman biomedical sciences major.
Many who aren't interested in seeing Levitt speak still feel that he is a good addition to the Distinguished Speaker Series.
"I haven't really heard about him," said Rebecca Josefiak, a junior political science major. "But it's nice that (UB) brings a lot of (different) people to speak."
The event will take place at 8 p.m. in Alumni Arena on Nov. 14. Free tickets are available to all undergraduates in the SA office, 350 Student Union.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
