Category: Television

This is Us — Who Has the Right to Light?

Kevin and Randall are two brothers who share a room. In this clip, Randall is trying to finish his homework by his bedside underneath a desk lamp. Being it is 2:00AM, Kevin is trying to sleep and is annoyed by the added light in the room. An altercation ensues, prompting Rebecca to intervene. After an offer from Randall to move to a different room, Kevin barges out, retreating to the basement.

The cause of the initial problem is Randall’s desk light, which acts as the negative externality in the situation. Randall is the producer of the externality, because the opportunity cost of shutting off the light and going to bed is too high in the face of his other responsibilities, such as football and homework. Kevin’s opportunity cost, however, conflicts with Randall’s preferences, because the opportunity cost of losing sleep is too high in light of his commitment to football. In searching for a solution, Randall makes a transaction cost by offering to move into the kitchen, since this offer acts as a form of negotiation. The problem is eventually ended through Kevin’s internalization of the externality: moving to the basement. It is through this action that Kevin utilizes the Coase Theorem to eliminate any more transaction costs and to end the problem efficiently.

Thanks to Megan Vareha for the clip and the summary!

0

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.

1

Home Improvement — Technological Improvement

Tim decides to customize his lawn mower in order to get more power out of it. By doing so he’s able to mow his lawn much quicker than he previous did. This technological innovation allows him to complete his task much quicker and spend more time on other tasks that need to be completed around the house.

0

The Daily Show — Ugly People Discrimination

Daily Show correspondent, Jason Jones, interviews Dan Hamermesh about looks-based discrimination. While people traditionally associate discrimination with race and gender, discrimination from an economic perspective is showing priority to one group of people over another. While the correspondent takes a comedic approach, the research by Hamermesh has been covered by a variety of outlets including Wall Street Journal, Freakonomics, New York Times, and US News.

0

The Daily Show — Sig Hansen & Deadliest Catch

 

Captain Sig Hansen joins Jon Stewart’s Daily Show to discuss life on an Alaska fishing boat. Hailed as the deadliest job in America, Hansen and his crew can earn tens of thousands of dollars in a matter of days so long as the crew is willing to risk their lives. Jon discusses safety on the boats and the motivation for why an individual would risk their lives.

0

Always Sunny: One Rock

Dennis and Dee are trying to buy a crack rock in order to manipulate the welfare system, but they aren’t really sure of the cost of a crack rock. When they approach a street dealer, he quickly realizes that the two clients aren’t well informed and he can earn a bit of extra profit by charging them a higher price. Luckily for him, they agree.

0

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!

0

Grey’s Anatomy — Who Should You Help?

Two victims of a train accident come into the emergency room with a pole going between both their stomachs. The team isn’t able to help one patient without causing potential injuries to the other patient. The doctors go back and forth about who to help and what to do. If they decide to help one patient, the other is sure to die. How do you decide who gets to live?

0

The Real — Thanksgiving Tap Out

Guest co-host, Ashanti, mentions that expensive flights during Thanksgiving should be “tapped out” because a lot of people need to be with their families during Thanksgiving. This relates to the concept of demand and supply because the airlines know that when it is close to Thanksgiving, the demand for flights increases, and since most people are eager to be with their families, they are rather inelastic to the price change, so the firms take advantage of this and raise the price of the tickets drastically in order to increase their total revenue.

Thanks for the clip and summary Tammy Georgewill!

0

Up ↑