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AN ECONOMIST WALKS INTO A BROTHEL

Allison Schrager

And Other Unexpected Places to Understand Risk and Make Better Decisions

For fans of THINKING FAST AND SLOW and THE POWER OF HABIT: In this groundbreaking work of popular decision-making science, award-winning business journalist and economist Allison Schrager introduces a new framework that will transform how we think about risk and how we make decisions in our careers, investing, and in life.
When many people hear the word risk, they think of worst-case scenarios like losing your job, your wealth, or your spouse. But actually, as Allison Schrager explains, risk includes the full range of whatever might happen, good or bad. If we want a great relationship, we risk heartbreak. If we want to get ahead at work, we take on projects that might fail. Avoiding risk is impossible; the challenge is how to be smart about risks in everyday life.

Schrager, a distinguished economist and journalist, has studied risky situations around the world, from battlefields to brothels. Drawing on a wide range of fascinating examples, she teaches us the science of risk-taking and helps us assess and maximize the upside while minimizing the downside.

Her five key principles can transform how we approach decisions both big and small--everything from whether to change jobs, how much to offer on your dream house, how to invest a 401(k), and how much time to leave to get to the airport. This book will give you the perspective and tools to make the world less risky and more rewarding.

Allison Schrager was awarded the 2016 Society for American Business Editor and Writers award for her feature writing in Quartz. She has written for the Economist, Reuters, and Bloomberg Businessweek, and her writing has also appeared in Wired, Playboy, the National Review, and Foreign Affairs. She has appeared on TV and radio, including CNBC, Vice, MSNBC, NPR and CBS.
Allison Schrager has a PhD in economics from Columbia University and currently teaches at New York University.
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Book

Published 2019-04-02 by Portfolio

Book

Published 2019-04-02 by Portfolio

Comments

CM 130: Allison Schrager on Rethinking Risk Read more...

A colorful, empowering guide to intelligent risk-taking.... a tightly organized yet punchy volume that's both engaging and educational. ...this book breaks the mold of traditional starched-collar, data-dense economics journalism. Read more...

Allison Schrager offers a highly readable, yet nuanced, guide to navigating the risks inherent in today's increasingly complex world. A must-read for anyone seeking to command, to govern, or to teach.

...I had so much fun hanging out with my friend Allison Schrager this week on the eve of her gigantic book launch for An Economist Walks Into a Brothel. Allison spent time with big wave surfers, Nevada prostitutes, Hollywood film producers, paparazzi cameramen, horse breeders, magicians and other real world practitioners to discover the way they handle risk....

Allison Schrager's An Economist Walks Into a Brothel is the best, most readable, most informative, most adventurous, and most entertaining take on risk you will find

An Economist Walks Into a Brothel: What Prostitutes and Big-Wave Surfers Can Teach Us About Risk - Allison Schrager wants to change the way you take chances. Read more...

National Public Radionews article with author interview and book mention Read more...

To learn how to manage risks in your life, don't consult office-bound economists or actuaries. Ask the real experts: prostitutes, gamblers, magicians, paparazzi, big-wave surfers, movie producers, horse breeders, and soldiers. Their careers require them to take risks. They succeed by doing so smartly - deriving as much benefit as possible per unit of risk taken. Allison Schrager, herself an economist, though not of the office-bound variety, interviewed all of these exotic professionals for an intriguing new book, An Economist Walks Into a Brothel: And Other Unexpected Places to Understand Risk. ... Read more...

If you want to understand risk better, you have to go into some unconventional settings. In the tradition of Freakonomics, that's what Allison Schrager does as an economist, and her book is not just informative - it's an entertaining read too.

UK / C: Macmillan ; Chinese (complex): Business Weekly ; Chinese (simplified): CITIC ; Italian: MGMT Edizioni (an imprint of Edizioni Crisalide) ; Korean: Sejong Books ; Portuguese (Brazil): Editora Schwarcz ; Portuguese: 2020 Editora ; Russian: Mann, Ivanov and Ferber ; Spanish: PRH Grupo Editorial

In this delightful book, financial economist and risk expert Allison Schrager shows us that the same principles employed by multi-billion dollar pension funds can help us improve risk management in our own lives. She teaches these principles while entertaining us with a series of off-the-beaten-path case studies. By creating distance from our own experiences, she allows us to better understand the principles of risk. It works! Whether a complete novice or a seasoned risk professional, the reader is in for a treat: Bon Appetit!

MSNBC Live interview with Stephanie Ruhle: Money, Power, Politics: How financial success is all about risk Read more...