This song is older but is still useful as a discussion about investing in human capital. Human capital is much more than just getting a degree. Human capital also involves general knowledge (what do you know?), skills (what can you do?), experience (where have you been?), and personal characteristics (are you reliable? do you work… Continue Reading →
Lisa — Money
Lisa’s “Money” took over the airwaves thanks to TikTok. The song addresses several economic concepts. First, currency is considered a medium of exchange, and cash is perfectly liquid. Understanding the important role that currency plays is critical to market transactions. Second, the sum of currency and checkable deposits are equivalent to the M1, Money Supply…. Continue Reading →
Bruno Mars — The Lazy Song
Bruno Mars lists out all the things he could be doing that day if he he hadn’t decided to just lay in bed and be lazy. Even though choosing to lay in bed doesn’t have any monetary costs associated with it, it doesn’t mean that there are no costs to his decision. Every decision people… Continue Reading →
TurboTax — Too Busy to do Taxes
The guitar player is too busy to do his taxes, but TurboTax is happy to step in. The opportunity cost of stopping to complete the task is high for the guitar player but low for the accountant. The two can benefit from trade by having the musician continue to produce music and the accountant complete… Continue Reading →
I Can See Your Voice — Asymmetric Information
Could you tell if someone is a good singer just by the way they look or by how they lip-sync a song? In this music game show, contestants perform a variety of tasks and judges have to decide whether or not the person is actually a good singer. The show’s host and the performers know… Continue Reading →
The Inclusive Economist: Celebrating Cultural and Linguistic Diversity Through Pop Culture
Wayne GeerlingMonash UniversityWebsite Florencia GabrieleEmmanuel CollegeWebsite G. Dirk MateerUniversity of TexasWebsite Jadrian WootenPenn State UniversityWebsite This website was created to facilitate the poster session from the2021 Meeting of the Allied Social Science Association. You can download the original poster as well. We showcase how to promote greater inclusion in the economics classroom through the use… Continue Reading →
Bank of Jamaica — Inflation Music Video
The Bank of Jamaica has released some catchy snippets discussing inflation targeting with a reggae beat and the benefits of low, stable inflation for investors and consumers.
Lil’ Dicky — Professional Rapper
In this video, Lil’ Dicky interviews with Snoop Dogg for a position as a professional rapper. There’s one section early in the song that looks at the concept of opportunity costs. Lil’ Dicky (David Burd) was a college graduate from University of Richmond, but decided to become a rapper instead. During the “interview” with Snoop,… Continue Reading →
Lil Dicky — $ave Dat Money
Lil’ Dicky shows the process of trying to make the most epic rap video of all time, but without spending much money. The entire song looks at a variety of ways that Lil’ Dicky tries to save money and avoids spending money on unnecessary expenditures “just to flex.”
J. Cole — Brackets
J Cole discusses the impact of tax brackets on his earnings. As J Cole continues to increase his earnings, he moves into new tax brackets, which requires an increasing amount of tax liability to the government. This song could be used as a good pre-class video before discussing tax policy. The Tax Policy Foundation provides… Continue Reading →