The following videos are ones that I show regularly in my principles of microeconomics course. While one or two videos may not be shown depending on time, most of these make an appearance throughout the semester. If you’re a student reviewing this for an exam, you only need to watch the ones I played in class. Sometimes I may cut a video if we don’t have time to cover it.
Lesson 1 (Introduction, Foundations, & Models)
Moscow on the Hudson — Coffee Aisle
Parks & Rec — Asthmas Induced Sunsets
Along Came Polly — Stabbing the Pillows
Parks & Rec — Ron Swanson on Capitalism
How to Make Everything — A $1500 Chicken Sandwich in Only 6 Months
Super Troopers — Free Hot Dog
Lesson 2 (Demand & Supply)
Seinfeld — The Note (Shifts vs Movements)
The Big Bang Theory — Electricity & Cable
AT&T — We Want More Commercial
The Office — Princess Unicorn (Part 2)
Lesson 3 (Labor Markets)
Moneyball — Breaking Biases
Buzzfeed — Jose vs Joe
Lesson 4 (Economic Efficiency)
Just Go With It — Negotiation Scene
Lesson 5 (Elasticity)
Jingle All the Way — Elasticity of TurboMan
The Wire — String Bell Learns Economics
The Simpsons — Bart Gets an Elephant
TIME — Nutella Riots
Marginal Revolution University — Elasticity & Slave Redemption
Lesson 6 (Price Controls & Quotas)
NYC Debate — Rent is Too Damn High
John Stossel — Rent Control in NYC
College Humor — Apartment Hunting in NYC
Chris Rock — Bullet Control
Saturday Night Live — Minimum Wage
KXLY — Teen Unemployment
Bloomberg — The Value of a Medallion
Lesson 7 (Taxes & Tax Policy)
ieaTV — Art Laffer Explains the Laffer Curve
Lesson 8 (Externalities & Types of Goods)
Above Average — Everyone’s Upstairs Neighbor
Axe Commercial — Pros & Cons
Colbert Report — Cashmere Externalities
US Bank — Unobstructed View
TED — How to Solve Traffic Jams
Adam Ruins Everything — Trophy Hunting
Lesson 9 (International Trade)
Brad Paisley — American Saturday Night
King of the Hill — Mowing While Intoxicated
Human Powered Ferris Wheel
Construction in Thailand
Vox — China’s Panda Diplomacy
We The Economy — Globalization
Lesson 10 (Production & Costs)
The Big Bang Theory — Penny Blossoms
Seinfeld — Bottle Arbitrage
The Office — Fixed vs Variable Cost Pricing
Lesson 11 (Perfect Competition)
The Simpsons — Mr. Plow
Two and a Half Men — Massage Competition
I Love Lucy — 5 Cent Hamburgers
Lesson 12 (Monopoly)
Adam Ruins Everything — Engagement Rings
Adam Ruins Everything — Eyeglass Monopoly
The Office — Princess Unicorn
Seinfeld — Soup Nazi
Lesson 13 (Monopolistic Competition)
Superior Donuts — Food Truck Competition
Mediocre Films — Deluxe Hugs
Lesson 14 (Oligopoly)
The League — Colluding to Split the Body
Lesson 15 (Pricing Strategy)
Paper Moon — Selling Bibles
Always Sunny — One Rock
The Toys That Made Us — Two Part Tariffs for Barbie
Lesson 16 (Game Theory)
Golden Balls — Split or Steal
Golden Balls — Coordination
Footloose — Chicken with Tractors
A Beautiful Mind — Ignoring the Blonde
Princess Bride — Battle of Wits
The Big Bang Theory — Desk Wars: Tit for Tat
ABC News — Lost in New York
TED — Hoteling Model
Survivor — 21 Flags
Lesson 17 (Consumer Choice & Behavioral)
Numb3rs — Ultimatum Game
The Big Bang Theory — Sheldon & Rationality
The Big Bang Theory — Sunk Costs & Ringtones
Blackish — Gift Giving
Jerry Seinfeld — Morning Guy
Modern Family — Greeting Card Jackpot
Moneyball — I Hate Losing