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.
US White House — Nixon Orders a Price Freeze
Watch Nixon address the nation during a period of high inflation. Nixon’s decision to implement price freezes across the United States sounds like a great policy, but the inefficiency of price manipulation typically outweighs the benefits that some consumers receive. Here’s a nice summary from the Cato Institute.
Friends — The Job is in Paris
In the beginning of the clip Rachel tells Ross that she got her old job back at Ralph Lauren. Ross asks if she is still going to take the job in Paris (which she was offered in the previous episode) since she was hired back at her old job. Rachel says she still wants to go to Paris because when the people at Loui Vuitton found out Ralph Lauren wanted her back they decided to offer her more money. This clip is a good example of opportunity cost, which is the loss of potential gain from other alternatives when one alternative is chosen. If Rachel wouldn’t have chosen, the job in Paris she would have been missing out on more money than if she would have stayed. Since she is taking the job in Paris her opportunity cost is that she will have to leave her friends and family.
Thanks Kailey Werkheiser for the clip and the summary!
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.
John Stossel — Rent Control in New York City
John Stossel explores New York City’s decision to implement rent control throughout the city. He covers many of the predictable outcomes associated with inefficient policy controls. Ask students to identify issues as he progresses through the video. While the references are a bit dated, there aren’t many videos that hit the outcomes as closely as this one does.
How I Met Your Mother — Track & Field Robots
In this clip, Tracy has a small debate with her roommate about going out to a party on St. Patrick’s day. While her roommate tries to convince her to go out, claiming that she is doing nothing with her time, Tracy rebuttals and says how she is “about to enter my robots doing track and field events period” as she looks over at her painting she has been working on. This clip displays the concept of opportunity cost. If Tracy decides to go out she could potentially be finding a new possible soulmate but she would be giving up time to work on her painting. If she decided to stay home, she could improve and progress the work on her painting but she would be giving up her potential love she could be finding.
Thank you for the clip and summary James Hetherington!
Brad Paisley — I’m Gonna Miss Her
The song is about a guy that chose to go fishing instead of staying with his wife. It shows opportunity costs because he could either choose fishing where he didn’t know if he would catch anything or stay with his wife which could have been the best thing for him.
Thanks for the summary and the clip Aaron Wolfe! If you’d like to see more country music videos that have economic themes, check out Econ Gone Country.
Nissan Leaf — What if Everything Ran on Gas?
Nissan simulates a world where everything runs on gasoline and asks potential buyers to consider a world where everything didn’t.
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!
Friends — The One Where Joey Loses his Health Insurance
Joey loses his health insurance from SAG because he hasn’t been working enough jobs. He laments to Chandler that he now has to be more careful until he gets enough interviews to qualify again. The next day Joey gets a hernia, but won’t go to the hospital because he can’t afford. He tries to do a few different auditions with the hernia, but none of them really work in his favor.