Lecture: Dr. Peter Leeson on ”“WTF?! An Economic Tour Of The Weird”

First Published: 2017-09-07

Join The Nassau Institute at The University of The Bahamas Tuesday, October 3, 2017 for a lecture by Peter Leeson on ”“WTF?! An Economic Tour Of The Weird” in the lecture hall at the Harry C. Moore Library at of The University of The Bahamas starting at 6:30pm.

The event is free and open to the public. Space is limited and available on a first come first served basis.

Summary from Dr. Leeson:

“My presentation will be on my new book (pictured left):

“Step right up! Get your tickets for WTF?! An Economic Tour of the Weird! This rollicking tour through a museum of the world’s weirdest practices is guaranteed to make you say, “WTF?!” Did you know that “preowned” wives were sold at auction in nineteenth-century England? That today, in Liberia, accused criminals sometimes drink poison to determine their fate? How about the fact that, for 250 years, Italy criminally prosecuted cockroaches and crickets? Do you wonder why? Then this tour is just for you!

“Join WTF?!’s cast of colorful characters as they navigate the museum, led by guide and economist Peter T. Leeson. From one exhibit to the next, you’ll overhear Leeson’s riotous exchanges with the patrons and learn how to use economic thinking to reveal the hidden sense behind seemingly senseless human behavior—including your own. Leeson shows that far from “irrational” or “accidents of history,” humanity’s most outlandish rituals are ingenious solutions to pressing problems—developed by clever people, driven by incentives, and tailor-made for their time and place. Can you handle getting schooled by the strange? Better hurry, the tour is about to start!”

About Dr. Leeson:

Peter T. Leeson is the Duncan Black Professor of Economics and Law at George Mason University. Formerly, he was a Visiting Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago, Visiting Fellow in Political Economy and Government at Harvard University, and the F.A. Hayek Fellow at the London School of Economics. Professor Leeson is the North American Editor of Public Choice and author of the award-winning The Invisible Hook: The Hidden Economics of Pirates and Anarchy Unbound: Why Self-Governance Works Better than You Think. His newest book, WTF?! An Economic Tour of the Weird, uses economics to understand the world’s strangest customs—from wife-selling in Industrial Revolution England to trial by poison ingestion in contemporary Liberia. Freakonomics author Steven Levitt calls WTF?! “the most interesting book [he has] read in years”—“like Freakonomics on steroids.” According to Big Think, Professor Leeson is one of the top young economists in the world.


This event would not be possible without the generous support of :

Templeton Religion Trust

Compass Point Beach Resort

Bahamas Wholesale Agencies Limited

Go Ahead Biscuits

Arizona Drinks

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