Category: Law and Econ

The Simpsons – Ten Commandments

The opening scene of this episode from The Simpsons features a parody of the 1956 film The Ten Commandments. Homer the Thief is the local thief at Mt. Sinai in 1220 B.C. His job in the town is to steal. Moses then comes to say the Ten Commandments, and as soon as he says: “You shall not steal”, Homer realizes that he has just lost his job.

The Ten Commandments provided a foundational set of rules intended to govern personal behavior and social interactions among the Israelites. From an economic perspective, laws and regulations serve a similar purpose: they provide a framework within which economic activities can be conducted in an orderly and predictable manner. Just as the Ten Commandments sought to create a moral and social order, modern economic laws and regulations aim to ensure fair trade, protect property rights, prevent fraud, and promote market efficiency.

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Joseph: King of Dreams

Disney’s Joseph: King of Dreams is based on the Biblical story story of Jacob and his twelve sons, with a particular focus on Joseph, Jacob’s favorite son. Joseph’s privileged status, marked by a special coat given to him by Jacob, stirs deep jealousy among his brothers. This animosity intensifies after Joseph shares dreams that symbolize his future dominance over his family.

This scene highlights how Jacob’s brothers are motivated by envy and the desire for profit. They seize an opportunity to rid themselves of Joseph. In a calculated move, they decide to sell Joseph into slavery, a practice institutionalized in their society, gain profit. This decision reflects not only their personal resentment but also a profit motive, as they benefit materially from selling their brother. Their actions are facilitated by the existence of slavery as an institution within their society, which provides them with the means to translate their malicious intent into a profitable outcome.

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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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The G Word with Adam Conover – Rent-Seeking in Weather

When companies engage in rent-seeking behavior, they are engaging in behavior that is intended to increase their wealth without a subsequent increase in productivity. Private weather companies use government-funded data and resell that data as if it were proprietary. The same companies have also engaged in lobbying efforts to reduce competition from the National Weather Service and prevent the agency from acting as a substitute.

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The G Word with Adam Conover – Local Pork

When it comes to disaster relief efforts, states are not treated equally but rather based on their representation on FEMA’s oversight committee. Pork barrel, or simply pork, is a metaphor for the appropriation of government spending for localized projects secured solely or primarily to bring money to a representative’s district. The results are often worse when a natural disaster happens during an election year. Read more in this NYT article by the late Alan Kreuger.

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Have Gun – Will Travel — Bitter Wine

 

Paladin is hired to settle an issue between a vineyard owner and a neighboring oilman. The smoke and runoff from the oil well are damaging the grapes of the award-winning vintner. This is a classic case of externalities and the Coase Theorem would suggest the two could meet and solve the problem on their own (if there were low transaction costs), but the Coase Theorem wasn’t written about until two years AFTER this episode aired.

Check out this Econlib post for more discussion. This clip, and a forthcoming working paper, was presented at the 2019 Southern Economics Association Annual Meetings by Jon Murphy and John Schuler.

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The Walking Dead — Property Rights

 

In the middle of being chased by walkers, Rick and the group decide to break into a home because they believe it to be uninhabited. To their surprise, a man is living in the home and because threatening to shoot them, which would attract more zombies to the area. The group is faced with a decision of whether to kill the man to save their own lives or leave his property and face eminent death.

Thanks to Brian Hollar for the clip suggestion!

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