Economics can explain everything, from why people behave the way they do to how governments and businesses organize themselves.

As the blockbuster best-seller Freakonomics demonstrated, economics can explain everything from why people behave the way they do to how governments and businesses organize themselves. But are the basic assumptions and conclusions in Freakonomics true? Does the free market usually lead to unintended and negative consequences? Quite the opposite, says John Lott, who holds a Ph.D. in economics. In fact, says Lott, a wide range of fascinating and peculiar case studies prove the simple adage that if something is more costly, people will do less of it. And, in a refutation of Freakonomics' most controversial idea, Lott shows why legalized abortion leads to family breakdown, which leads to more crime.