1. FREAKONOMICS
SUBSECTION 1 & 2
JUAN FELIPE VILLEGAS

2. ARGUMENT
Chapter 1 in the book Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner tries to show similarities and correlation's between the reactions of school teachers and sumo wrestlers when they are confronted by economic incentives to motivate them to improve their efficiency and talent.

3. SCHOOL TEACHERS
With new laws and regulations such as the famous "No Child Left Behind" Act, teachers were given economic incentives for improving their students annual test scores. However, if their test scores dropped they were at risk of loosing bonus's and even worse loosing their jobs. In California for example teachers could receive a $25,000 bonus for improved test scores.
Due to this teachers out of fear and sometimes malice and greed began to cheat in order to improve their test scores and receive benefits. They would often alter students tests and even help them with their answers.

4. SUMO WRESTLERS
In Japan the sport/art of sumo wrestling is highly competitive and only the very best become famous and live the comfortable and luxurious lives of top sumo wrestlers. The top ranked sumo wrestlers may earn $170,000 per year plus an additional $100,000 for every competition they win. However the lower ranked may earn only up to $15,000 if they are lucky.
Because of these differences the sport is contaminated with corruption and when this is reported the sumo wrestling association does nothing in order to prevent loss of reputation of an ancient and traditional institution.

5. CONCLUSION How do the two parties respond to economic incentives?
TEACHERS: cheating
SUMO WRESTLERS: corruption/cheating

6. Freakonomics
Subsection 3 and 4

7. Real EstateAgents and the KKK
This chapter explains how powerful and important information can be to an individual person or an organization. It explains that the KKK was finally almost eliminated by revealing their information and that real estate agents carry a lot of power because they have a lot of information about their local real estate.

8. Drug Dealers Living With Their Moms
Chapter 4 once again talks about motivation and incentives. Here Levitt and Dubner try to understand what leads people living in Chicago ghettos to join gangs. They find out that being part of these gangs is exactly the same as working for any large company or factory and that the reason people join is more because of culture and lifestyle than due to economic incentives.