Gary Gulman – An Ode to Oreos

The Oreo cookie may be the best cookie of all time. Comedian Gary Gulman would agree. In this standup session, Gulman highlights the various ways that Oreos have innovated their product and even provided double the filling for no extra cost.

In the second part of the joke, Gulman highlights the ways that Oreos have differentiated their products in order to compete with other cookies. You never know what that little cookie is up to until you stop by on your way through the grocery store:

Thanks to Michael Lucas for the clip suggestion!

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Blacklist – VSL & Ethics

A CEO (Digby) kills a 12-year-old in a hit-and-run, but there is a witness. This is where “The Ethicist” comes in. He offers to eliminate the witness because statistically, her life is worth less than the CEO’s life. Klepper summarizes the concept of the value of statistical life (VSL) and how he uses that to determine who he will murder. Whoever he determines has a more valuable contribution to the world is who gets to live.

Thanks to Alfredo Paloyo for the clip suggestion!

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Can you negotiate at Target?

Price tags are an interesting phenomenon when you consider that it wasn’t all that long ago that negotiating in stores was a common practice. Price tags improve efficiency because they present full information for customers who don’t have to worry about negotiating, but it doesn’t mean that the price is the most efficient price. There are markets all around the world that display one price, but involve sellers willing to negotiate. Jia Jiang finds out that Target is not one of those markets.

Thanks to Bryan Sloss for sending in this clip!

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Jaws – It’s an Eating Machine.

Who wants to swim at a beach with multiple recent shark attacks? In Jaws (1975), Mayor Vaughn knows that if word of the attacks gets out and the beaches shut down, it will cripple the local tourist economy of Amity Island. Tourists will choose other safer places to stay, and businesses will not want to invest in the area if it has become an undesirable vacation spot. If there is a shark terrorizing the local beaches, there is likely to be a decline in consumer and business confidence in the town causing the aggregate demand curve to decline.

Thanks to Amanda Mandzik for the clip submission & summary.

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Adventureland – You’re Hired!

It’s the summer of 1987, and recent college grad James Brennan (Jesse Eisenberg) can’t wait to begin his long-anticipated dream trip to Europe. Unfortunately, James’ plans come to a screeching halt when his parents announce that they are unable to subsidize his trip and he’ll need to get a job. He is turned down for a restaurant job and an asphalt mixer driver before taking a job at an amusement park.

Amusement parks serve as useful illustrations of simplified economies. Within the park borders, they create a range of goods and services such as rides, games, food, and entertainment. We can track the prices and total sales of these goods and services to determine the overall productivity of the park.

Thanks to Amanda Mandzik for the clip submission & summary!

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Good Burger – Going Into the Grinder

Dexter needs a summer job after wrecking his car, but he is unable to keep his first job at Mondo Burger because of his incompatibility with his boss. In an all-hands meeting, Dexter makes multiple wisecracks that cause his boss to fire him and have him physically removed from the premises. Fortunately for Dexter, he will find an employment opportunity with the local competition, Good Burger. Frictional unemployment may also occur if there is a mismatch between employer and employee.

Thanks to Amanda Mandzik for the clip and summary.

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Adventureland – Summer Jobs

When an individual is actively looking for work, unemployment can be categorized as frictional, structural, or cyclical. James is thrown into the job market early, but finding a job does not happen immediately for James. He is turned down for a restaurant job and an asphalt mixer driver because he lacks the skills necessary to do the work. For classification purposes, James is finding that he is structurally unemployed. If there were jobs available in other areas that needed his skills in comparative literature, economists would consider him frictionally unemployed.

Thanks to Amanda Mandzik for the clip suggestion!

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The Way, Way Back – There You Go!

Duncan, the main character in the movie, The Way, Way Back, is an example of someone who wouldn’t be considered unemployed, even though he does not initially have a job. To be officially classified as unemployed, an individual from the labor force must not be currently working but must be available to work and actively looking for work within the last 4 weeks.

Not only is Duncan only 14 years old—making him too young to be a member of the working-age population—but he also is not looking for a job. In this scene, he is spontaneously offered a job at a water park by a new acquaintance. For classification purposes, he was not part of the labor force and then switched to employed.

Thanks to Amanda Mandzik for the clip and summary.

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50 First Dates – Nothing Beats a First Kiss

In 50 First Dates, Henry sets his heart on romancing Lucy. The problem? She has short-term memory loss and can’t ever remember anything that happened the day before. Every morning, Henry has to woo her again.

As this pattern is established, this scene shows Henry and Lucy kissing at the end of many different days, only to be followed by Lucy saying (every time), “Nothing beats a first kiss.” Henry, of course, knows that this is not the first kiss anymore. In terms of diminishing marginal utility, the first kiss (at least to Lucy) provides the highest level of marginal utility. Each kiss after that may provide positive marginal utility, but it won’t be as high as the first one.

Sadly, Henry is aware that this is not his first kiss with Lucy, and so he will experience diminishing marginal returns for each additional kiss that he receives.

Thanks to Amanda Mandzik for the clip suggestion and summary!

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The Sandlot – Smalls First Catch

In The Sandlot, neighborhood kids play an “endless dream game” all summer long. There are two kids on opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to baseball talent and natural ability. Benny is the superstar on the local sandlot team. He has a clear absolute advantage over all the others in running, hitting, throwing, and catching. On the other hand, Scotty (nicknamed “Smalls”) possesses book smarts but is clueless about baseball. He can’t throw or catch and has little knowledge about baseball in general.

Benny uses his absolute advantage as an opportunity to train Smalls on how to catch and throw. Investing in training uses resources (like time and energy), but has the potential to payoff in the future. It takes Benny and the rest of the team a while, but Smalls eventually becomes a member of the term. Smalls may never have an absolute advantage in catching, but his comparative advantage in catching gets a little better with time.

Thanks to Amanda Mandzik for the clip submission and summary.

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