Recess — Stickers as Money

Colorful stickers have become de facto currency on the playground. TJ can’t buy things because he doesn’t have any stickers even though his friends have them. Because of the increase in demand, the local shop owner doesn’t even have any stickers left.

TJ decides to start working in order to earn more stickers to buy things. When he gets tired of doing labor for stickers, he turns into a managerial role and begins delegating tasks to other kids who needs stickers. When TJ collects nearly all of the Monstickers on the playground, the kids aren’t able to actually purchase anythings. Eventually, Monstickers become obsolete and the playground converts to Lick ‘n’ Stick Alien Stamps and the Monstickers become useless.

2017 0

Vox — Homer Simpson: An Economic Analysis

Homer has had about 100 jobs during his many years on television and Vox writers have analyzed his work life. If you plan on using a lot of Simpsons clips throughout your course, they may be a good introduction for students unfamiliar with the show.

2017 0

Aaron Tippin — I Got it Honest

Aaron Tippin sings about the hard working lifestyle of a blue-collar worker who works 8 hours per day. While others may have more money than he does, he did it the way he felt was right by not selling his values.

If you love country music and economics, check out EconGoneCountry.com

2017 0

A Knight’s Tale — Investing in Training

William Thatcher (Heath Ledger) in A Knight’s Tale convinces his friends that they should take their winnings and invest it in better training so that they can win bigger prizes in the future.

2017 0

Marginal Revolution University: Will Machines Take Our Jobs?

Great work from the folks at Marginal Revolution University on the tradeoffs of robotization. I like to break this clip down into 6-7 parts and place clicker questions between the video clips.

2017 1

Human Powered Ferris Wheel

I use this in my international trade chapter to talk about factor endowments. Countries with a a lot of people (like India and China) will tend to do things using more labor than others.

2015 0

We The Economy: Monkey Business

What are the causes of inequality?

In “Monkey Business,” filmmaker Shola Lynch chats with economists from across the political spectrum to help explain the causes of economic inequality, with help from a couple of mammalian friends.

2015 0

The Economist: Migration

The Economist reports on how immigrants help both the countries they leave and those to which they move.

2015 0

Last Week Tonight: Gender Pay Gap

John Oliver explores America’s wage gap between men and women and proposes a possible solution.

Note: Solution proposed is 100% sarcastic.

2015 0

Vox: How wealth inequality is dangerous for America

The top 1% of the population controls 40% of the nation’s wealth. Think about that for a minute. This Vox explainer outlines issues surrounding wealth inequality.

2014 1