Listen free for 30 days

  • An Economist Walks into a Brothel

  • And Other Unexpected Places to Understand Risk
  • Written by: Allison Schrager
  • Narrated by: Holly Palance
  • Length: 7 hrs and 32 mins
  • 4.0 out of 5 stars (26 ratings)

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo + applicable taxes after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
An Economist Walks into a Brothel cover art

An Economist Walks into a Brothel

Written by: Allison Schrager
Narrated by: Holly Palance
Try for $0.00

$14.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $23.31

Buy Now for $23.31

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Tax where applicable.

Publisher's Summary

A Financial Times Book of the Month pick for April!

Is it worth swimming in shark-infested waters to surf a 50-foot, career-record wave?

Is it riskier to make an action movie or a horror movie?

Should sex workers forfeit 50 percent of their income for added security or take a chance and keep the extra money?

Most people wouldn't expect an economist to have an answer to these questions - or to other questions of daily life, such as who to date or how early to leave for the airport. But those people haven't met Allison Schrager, an economist and award-winning journalist who has spent her career examining how people manage risk in their lives and careers.

Whether we realize it or not, we all take risks large and small every day. Even the most cautious among us cannot opt out - the question is always which risks to take, not whether to take them at all. What most of us don't know is how to measure those risks and maximize the chances of getting what we want out of life.

In An Economist Walks into a Brothel, Schrager equips listeners with five principles for dealing with risk, principles used by some of the world's most interesting risk takers. For instance, she interviews a professional poker player about how to stay rational when the stakes are high, a paparazzo in Manhattan about how to spot different kinds of risk, horse breeders in Kentucky about how to diversify risk and minimize losses, and a war general who led troops in Iraq about how to prepare for what we don't see coming.

When you start to look at risky decisions through Schrager's new framework, you can increase the upside to any situation and better mitigate the downside.

©2019 Allison Schrager (P)2019 Penguin Audio

What the critics say

"In this delightful book, financial economist and risk expert Allison Schrager shows us that the same principles employed by multi-billion dollar pension funds can help us improve risk management in our own lives. She teaches these principles while entertaining us with a series of off-the-beaten-path case studies. By creating distance from our own experiences, she allows us to better understand the principles of risk. It works! Whether a complete novice or a seasoned risk professional, the reader is in for a treat: Bon Appetit!" (Robert C Merton, distinguished professor of finance, MIT Sloan School and Nobel Laureate)

“Prostitution seems like a long stretch from the risks most of us deal with, such as outliving our retirement funds, but Schrager inventively extracts five life lessons from her interviews with practitioners of the so-called oldest profession, as well as others who’ve chosen unusual career paths.” (Bloomberg Businessweek)

“If you want to understand risk better, you have to go into some unconventional settings. In the tradition of Freakonomics, that’s what Allison Schrager does as an economist, and her book is not just informative - it’s an entertaining read too.” (Adam Grant, New York Times best-selling author of Originals and Give and Take)

More from the same

What listeners say about An Economist Walks into a Brothel

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    10
  • 4 Stars
    11
  • 3 Stars
    3
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    2
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    9
  • 4 Stars
    4
  • 3 Stars
    3
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    7
  • 4 Stars
    6
  • 3 Stars
    3
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

A good introduction to everyday risk

The author hit the zone of an easy, interesting listen. Concepts are explained using everyday examples, not that I go to brothels everyday. In the audio version, at least, there are no footnotes to check the research behind the theory, but — as you can guess from the title — this is not an academic treatise. I would recommend it as a film and solid introduction to the economics of risk, but not necessarily for those who have already taken courses in the area.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent and Entertaining Exploration of Risk for all of Us

The combination of the author’s text and the narrator’s delivery creates both a compelling and very entertaining primer on risk and its management. While the book does deal with risk in traditional applications like military and financial planning, her delving into both unusual and very much everyday examples of risk assessment and strategy provide timely and highly a valuable map for all of us to follow as we make decisions - small and large - in our lives and businesses. Highly highly recommended. Will be watching for Allison’s next book!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing!

Imaginative use of engaging images to explain the important but unapproachable topic of risk. Proof that storytelling is a powerful tool for communication. Having spent a career working with these concepts, I applaud Ms. Schrager's deep subject knowledge and succinct style. Almost convinced me that actuaries are people too!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

snore bore

there was a lot of academic double speak and cliche after cliche about assuming risk.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!