Teaching Economics with Media
Jim Hacker faces political pressure as he tries to implement a smoking ban through increased taxes and advertising restrictions. While he presents the policy as a health measure, Sir Humphrey challenges him with the government’s financial dependence on tobacco tax revenue. The result is a witty back-and-forth weighing public health externalities against fiscal incentives.
Thanks to Charlie Ben-Nathan for the clip suggestin!
In this episode of Modern Family, Luke lands a job at a golf club and hires his sister Haley as a beverage cart worker. Despite her occasionally off-putting customer service, she consistently earns the highest tips, making her Luke’s most valuable employee. Her performance raises eyebrows, but not enough for Luke to replace her.
In this South Park episode, a fictional news station covers a crisis at the “time border,” where immigrants from the future are arriving in the present day in search of work. While scientists are fascinated by the arrival of these “future Americans,” current residents are outraged over job losses and wage reductions. The outrage stems from the fact that these immigrants accept much lower wages, undercutting local workers.
Thanks to Michael Wagnon for the clip suggestion!
In this deleted scene from The Office, Dwight argues that he deserves a raise. His rationale isn’t just based on his performance, but also because inflation is eroding his purchasing power. He correctly points out that if his nominal wage stays the same while prices rise, his real wage falls, meaning his income buys less than before. This clip is a great (and rare!) example of a character in a sitcom applying the concept of real vs. nominal wages.
Thanks to Dan Kuester and Dirk Mateer for the clip!
After hitting his head on a wall, Andy tries to seek medical help, but it turns out that he hasn’t had health insurance for the past two years. He casually explains that he didn’t think he needed it unless something bad happened. His misunderstanding of how insurance works leads to financial vulnerability when care is suddenly needed.
Andy’s situation illustrates issues of adverse selection (healthy people opting out of insurance) and moral hazard (people taking more risks because they’re insured or not getting insured because they misjudge their risk).
In this clip from Parks and Recreation, newly elected city councilwoman Leslie Knope proposes a soda tax to combat the city’s rising obesity rates. Shocked by the absurdly large drink sizes sold in town, Leslie pushes for government intervention through taxation to promote healthier choices. Her proposal will eventually spark pushback from the beverage industry and some constituents.
This scene is a great way to introduce Pigouvian taxes, which are taxes designed to correct for negative externalities. Leslie’s soda tax targets the societal costs of obesity by attempting to reduce the consumption of unhealthy goods.
In this satirical mock advertisement from Parks and Recreation, a local television station promotes a fictional mega-merger between Verizon, Exxon, and Chipotle. We learn that they have formed one of just eight remaining companies in America by the year 2017. The ad cheerfully celebrates the merger while glossing over the disturbing level of market consolidation.
This clip is a clever and funny way to introduce students to oligopoly and market power. It demonstrates how mergers can reduce competition and concentrate economic power in the hands of a few large firms.
In this clip from King of the Hill, local propane sellers had engaged in a price war that drove prices so low that they were incurring losses. Frustrated by the unsustainable competition, Hank Hill brings the producers together to encourage them to “work together” and charge more reasonable prices. What starts as an attempt to stabilize the market quickly becomes an illegal propane cartel, resulting in higher prices and larger profits for the few remaining sellers.
The scene shows how firms may be tempted to coordinate prices to avoid losses, even though such agreements harm consumers and violate antitrust laws.
Thanks to Brian Lynch for the clip recommendation
In this clip from The Today Show in 1994, the hosts puzzle over a then-emerging concept: the internet. They debate the purpose of the “@” symbol, question how the internet works, and ask, “What is the internet, anyway?”—a moment that seems almost surreal today.
This is a powerful reminder of how quickly technology reshapes the economy. It can be used to introduce students to the idea of structural change in the labor market and how technological progress creates entirely new industries, jobs, and skills. Many of today’s careers didn’t exist just a few decades ago, and this moment in broadcast history captures how disorienting that change can be in real time.
Two teenagers are suspected of involvement in a murder they previously predicted. When police investigators attempt to scare them into confessing, the teens confidently point out that the detectives clearly don’t understand game theory or the prisoner’s dilemma. Rather than pressuring them together, the detectives could have separated them and offered each a plea deal for confessing first. That strategy would have created incentives for both to confess, revealing the truth.
Thanks to Mati Rogers for submitting the clip!