Levitt (economics, U. of Chicago) and writing collaborator Dubner (a writer for the New York Times and The New Yorker) dub the material in this work ''freakonomics'' because Levitt uses analytical tools from economics to address a range of questions that, at first glance, might seem to be far removed from the discipline of the ''dismal science.'' They consider questions such as how to determine if teachers are aiding in students' cheating on standardized tests, the impact of information asymmetry on the operation of the Ku Klux Klan, how the organizational structure of crack gangs resemble other businesses, and the influence of parents on child development.
