Joseph Natividad

Street Names DO Matter

Stephen J. Dubner, journalist and co-author of Freakonomics, was on Good Morning America today to publicize his blog?s arrival to the New York Times website as well as give some real estate advice in terms of street names.

I?m a big fan of Freakonomics and am looking forward to getting a daily dose of it with a simple click of my mouse.

What Dubner said about street names was that they DO matter A LOT. If you?re trying to sell a home on Voltage Rd. or Jackass Hill, the best of luck to you. You need it more of it than any other home seller. But if you happen to live on a street with a name like Sugar Maple Lane or Family Circle, it would make a world of positive difference for the sale of your home.

In his book, Freakonomics, which Dubner co-wrote with the economist Steven Levitt, he also discussed the general significance of names in our society. Much like the street name claim, the authors gathered data to find negative and positive effects that a person?s name would have on his or her future.

This is true in most cases, but Dubner and Levitt also disproved it by telling their readers about two brothers ? one named Winner ? and the other (you guessed it) ? Loser. You would think that their futures were pretty much set in stone, but they ended up quite differently. Loser turned out to be a New York City cop while his brother with a bread-winning name ended up a criminal.

Getting back to street names ? it doesn?t matter much if you live in a street named after someone else. I?m guessing that would be the ?control? if this claim could ever be called a social experiment.

2 Comments to Street Names DO Matter

1. 

   What happens if your name is Best?
Joseph on August 9th, 2007
2. 

   I loved Freakonomics. It’s a great book.
Suzanne Millward on August 14th, 2007

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