Bart and Lisa are fishing when Bart pulls out a fish with three eyes. The end of the clip reveals they are fishing from a stream close to the town’s Nuclear Power Plant. This clip displays the concept of negative externalities, as the three-eyed fish was implied to be a product of runoff from the nuclear power plant.
Thanks for the clip and summary Peter Selinsky.
An example of a negative externality is displayed in the movie Anchorman when Paul Rudd’s character, Brian Fantana, sprays his so-called desirable perfume, Sex Panther, which is claimed to contain real bits of panther and is also illegal in nine countries. He states, “60% of the time, it works everytime”. After he applies this stinky spray, he goes to talk to Veronica Corningstone. As soon as he walks into the busy room, everyone leaves and coughs in disgust from the scent of this special cologne.
Thanks for the clip Allie Ziolkowski!
In this quick Axe commercial, we can observe both positive and negative externalities associated with cologne use. The original wearer didn’t realize the (good and bad) impact the second elevator guest would receive from his use of Axe Body Spray, and thus didn’t take that into account when he was applying it.
Robin and Ted list all the ways that the upstairs neighbors are being inconsiderate during their “bagpiping.” While enjoying themselves, they are causing a negative externality in the apartment below them and they aren’t considering that when they decide to bagpipe.
Schmidt has a tendency to be a bit eccentric and bother his roommates with a variety of sayings/outfits. These outburst tend to annoy his roommates so they collectively agree to regular his behavior and force him to pay a tax to a “douchebag jar” when he does things the group considers unfavorable.
Evan Osnos discusses many of the externalities that arise from the increased production of Cashmere in China over the past decade. Osnos explains that cashmere goats in China have sharp hooves that tear up the landscape and create dust, which then travels to the United States and reduces air quality, particularly along the west coast. As cashmere consumption has increased, so has the pollution. Osnos refers to the “real costs” of cashmere items (such as a cashmere toilet seat cover that Colbert has) as including the health care costs for those affected by the dust.
Here’s a lesson plan from SERC: https://serc.carleton.edu/econ/interactive/examples/43020.html
Traffic jams are often provided as an example of a market failure. Drivers are focused on their own driving and don’t consider how it may impact others. As a result, too many people use road systems and congestion occurs. This Ted Talk highlights how Pigouvian taxes could be used to correct the market failure by instituting congestion taxes. While it’s not presented by an economist, he uses a lot of economics concepts throughout the talk.
The neighborhood dog has been a bit of a bother for the Heffernans, but they may have come to a solution through private bargaining.
Here’s a nice satirical video of what an upstairs neighbor sounds like. Traditionally, they aren’t factoring in the impact of their loud noises on the people who live below them, but in this case, the upstairs neighbor knows exactly what they’re doing.