Legalized abortion reduced crime, author says

His theory about reduced crime has angered conservatives and liberals alike.
By SEAN BARRON
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
YOUNGSTOWN -- If you're someone who generally relies on conventional wisdom to explain many of life's enigmas, then you likely haven't crossed paths with Steven Levitt.
Levitt, an economics professor at the University of Chicago and co-author of the 2005 book "Freakonomics," spoke Monday to several hundred people at Stambaugh Auditorium. Levitt discussed some of the theories he and co-author, Stephen Dubner, put forth in their book.
"Freakonomics," a somewhat controversial book, explores the hidden side of many of life's mysteries and re-examines the causes of much of what seems straightforward.
Levitt, for example, gives little credence to more sophisticated policing and the increased use of the death penalty in reducing crime in the 1990s; instead, he draws a correlation between the legalization of abortion in the 1973 Roe v. Wade U.S. Supreme Court decision and less crime years later.
An unwanted child is more at risk for becoming a criminal, he argued; legalized abortions mean fewer adoptions and unwanted births -- all of which has led to a significant drop in crime nationwide in the 1990s, he said.
Levitt added that this theory has angered conservatives and liberals alike.
IRS change
He opened his hour-long presentation by sharing how one Internal Revenue Service worker in the 1980s came up with the idea of making taxpayers include dependent children's Social Security numbers instead of just listing them. That "simple" change in the tax rules saved the IRS about 3 billion annually by making it tougher for those who cheat on their taxes to claim certain benefits, he noted.
"The best ideas are often simple and totally obvious," he said.
Levitt also talked about research a University of Chicago sociology student conducted, which, among other things, showed similarities between the organizational skills of some drug gangs and those of corporations. Over time, Levitt explained, the violent gang trusted the student and revealed its inner workings to him.
The gang had a hierarchy much like a corporation in which the top players got far more money than the typical street-level crack dealers, Levitt said.
"The guys at the top get paid well; foot soldiers [sellers] get minimum wage," he noted.
Levitt also cast doubt on the validity of the so-called peak oil theory, which claims that the country is running out of oil and that gasoline prices will spike, leading to a worldwide economic depression.
The world has numerous substitutes for oil, but few economic incentives are in place to tap into them, he postulated. Higher gas prices can be good because they can act as an incentive for people to use mass transportation and conserve more, he added.