Category: Externalities & Public Goods

Always Sunny — Charlie & Mac Can’t Go to the Pool

In this episode of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” Mac and Charlie try to go swimming during the heat wave in Philadelphia. They grab their beer and floaties and head over to the local swim club. However, they are stopped by a worker who makes them put their beer away and then proceeds to tell them that they cannot be there because they are not members of the swim club. Frustrated with this, Mac and Charlie decide to make their own swim club, one that anyone can attend.

This clip relates to economics because the swim club is an example of an excludable, non-rival good, which is a club good. Because Mac and Charlie don’t pay the fee to be a member, they are unable to swim there. And, the worker tells them that they are at full capacity and are accepting no more members because the pool has the ability to restrict the number of members and charge higher prices. The two get disgruntled because they think the pool really isn’t at full capacity. They decide to go to an abandoned pool, one they used to swim in during their childhoods, and revamp it to make it nonexcludable and nonrival, which would make it a common resource. However, since it would become a public good, it would be easy to get overcrowded, making it rival and a common good.

Thanks to Anna DeCecco for the clip and summary.

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Superstore — Messy Roommate Situation

Garrett and Jonah became roommates after a tornado destroyed Jonah’s apartment, but it turns out that their habits aren’t exactly conducive to being roommates. Garrett passively aggressively lets Jonah know that he’s messy when it comes to taking a shower so he buys Jonah a bathmat. In return, Jonah suggests that he get Garrett a pair of noise-canceling headphones since he’s so bothered by every noise Jonah makes. The two go back-and-forth listing the various ways they annoy each other.

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Bud Light — Swear Jar

Normally a swear jar would be used to curb bad behavior (like in this clip from New Girl), but the folks around this office are using the money to buy Bud Light and have incidentally increased the usage of swear words.

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Shameless — Crying Baby

The eldest daughter takes care and provides for most of the family because their father is an alcoholic and mother is absent in their lives. One of the daughters, Debbie, gets pregnant and decides to have the child. After having the baby, she brings it back home and begins to live in her house with her newborn. One morning, the baby starts to cry. Everyone in the house is woken up by the newborn’s cries and is extremely angry. The baby crying in the morning is an example of a negative externality. By crying and waking everyone up, the baby is costing the third party, in this case the family, sleep, as a result.

Thanks to Annie Mae Weiss for the clip and description!

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The Simpsons — Prohibition

Springfield residents are clamoring to re-enact prohibition in town, but the City Council feels like the positive externalities outweigh the costs associated with alcohol. The County Clerk finds an old law for Springfield ordinance that actually outlaws alcohol. The new Duff Zero (alcohol-free beer) isn’t as popular as the original and the Duff factory has to shut down.

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The Simpsons — Pay What You Want

Homer and Lisa go to the Springfield Museum, but Homer isn’t sure he understands the entrance policy. He checks with the attendant, but doesn’t know why anyone would want to pay the suggested donation when they could go in without paying anything. Because the museum is available to everyone, regardless of whether they pay, it operates similar to a public good. The problem? Public goods are subject to free riders, like Homer.

Asrar Chowdhury has a great summary of this episode on The Daily Star as well.

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Louis CK — If Murder Were Legal

Louis CK works through the rational model of crime by Becker and why he’s happy that there are laws against murdering people. This clips would be great for a behavioral economics course or maybe a funny introduction to principles to talk about incentives, externalities, and public policy.

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Futurama — Big Piece of Garbage

 

A giant ball of garbage is heading toward earth and the gang learns what caused it. Early settlers of New York City couldn’t figure out where to dump all their garbage. After the barges filled up, the citizens were able to acquire a rocket and shoot the garbage into space. The trash is coming back though!

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