The arguments in the recent book Freakonomics are so flawed that economist John Lott responded with Freedomnomics: Why the Free Market Works and Other Half-Baked Theories Don’t (Regnery, 2007).
One chapter focuses on the often-ignored impact of “reputation” on economic actors. Lott includes the example of the Duke lacrosse players who were either suspended from school or had a job offer rescinded because of Mike Nifong’s (speaking of half-baked) charges.
The salient point here is that universities, like companies, rush to divest themselves of disreputable students or employees even before their crimes have been proven in court.
Lott’s book also highlights that Nifong dropped the rape charge and faced a State Bar complaint charging him with misconduct (see below for the results of the complaint), and that the university invited two of the three accused players to re-enroll (the other already had graduated).
