Todd Kendall

So lately I have been reading the work of Todd Kendall. Kendall is an economist who now works at Compass Lexecon (economic consulting firm) in Chicago. He earned his all his degrees including his PhD in economics from the University of Chicago. Some of Kendall’s research is very interesting. I think the general public would find Kendall’s research quite controversial but he does offer some interesting insights into a variety of different topics. The topics Kendall covers range from NBA players who misbehave, to prostitution, to how the internet has affected divorce rates. If I had to pick a theme for Kendall’s work I would say it is very Becker like. This of course comes from the work of Nobel Laureate Gary Becker who pioneered human capital and analyzed crime and punishment using an economics framework. I really wish all of Becker’s studies were published in some book. So what would be in this book? Well here in some of the things you might find.

On prostitution
When looking at prostitutes 53% have private insurance, 41% are college graduates, and 13% are married with an average yearly income over $92,000 per year. Although the amount of time women are in the industry is a little more than 5 years.

On children married to un-married parents
An increase of 10 non-married births/1,000 live births is associated with future increase in murder and property crime rates between 2.5% and 5%

On internet and divorce
No evidence that the internet has increased divorces and may have even reduced the number of divorces

I hope Todd Kendall continues to keep writing because I know I will continue to be reading his work.