130 Quotes by Steven D. Levitt

Isaac Bashevis Singer, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature, wrote across many genres, including children’s books. In an essay called “Why I Write for Children,” he explained the appeal. “Children read books, not reviews,” he wrote. “They don’t give a hoot about the critics.” And: “When a book is boring, they yawn openly, without any shame or fear of authority.” Best of all – and to the relief of authors everywhere – children “don’t expect their beloved writer to redeem humanity.

Married people, for instance, are demonstrably happier than single people; does this mean that marriage causes happiness? Not necessarily. The data suggest that happy people are more likely to get married in the first place.

Poverty is a symptom – of the absence of a workable economy built on credible political, social, and legal institutions.

Whatever problem you’re trying to solve, make sure you’re not just attacking the noisy part of the problem that happens to capture your attention.