Adventureland – You’re Hired!

It’s the summer of 1987, and recent college grad James Brennan (Jesse Eisenberg) can’t wait to begin his long-anticipated dream trip to Europe. Unfortunately, James’ plans come to a screeching halt when his parents announce that they are unable to subsidize his trip and he’ll need to get a job. He is turned down for a restaurant job and an asphalt mixer driver before taking a job at an amusement park.

Amusement parks serve as useful illustrations of simplified economies. Within the park borders, they create a range of goods and services such as rides, games, food, and entertainment. We can track the prices and total sales of these goods and services to determine the overall productivity of the park.

Thanks to Amanda Mandzik for the clip submission & summary!

2023 0

West Wing — CPI Increases

At this part in the episode, Senior Communications Director Toby Ziegler tells Press Secretary C.J. Cregg about the Bureau of Labor Statistics reporting the CPI increased by 0.7% in one month (could this be info that they released on Jobs Friday?). C.J. is about to go to a press briefing and quickly practices an answer in case a reporter asks about this startling statistic. C.J. and Toby, though they don’t name these exactly, talk about New Product Bias and Quality Bias as ways of explaining why CPI is not always reliable!

Thanks to Katie Cook and Kalina Staub from UNC for getting this clip on the website!

I just got an email from a student at 10:30pm on a Saturday because they were watching the West Wing and there was a scene where CJ and Toby were discussing CPI and inflation, and she knew what they were talking about. I will never receive a better email. My life is made.

— Kalina Staub (@TwterlessKalina) December 2, 2018

2018 0

M&Ms — What are Caramel M&M’s worth to you?

In this commercial for the new caramel M&M’s, our grocery store employee is trying to buy back M&Ms from customers as they’re leaving the store. The employee offers $2, $3, and his watch to get the M&Ms back even though the customers could easily go through the line again and get a new bag. People tend to value items they possess at a higher rate than they actually paid for them and this action appears irrational since the transaction costs of buying another pack is already low.

Thanks to James Tierney for actually watching the commercials on Hulu:

Teaching a section on #BehavioralEconomics this fall? Use this short 15-sec @mmschocolate ad to open up a discussion on the #EndowmentEffect #TeachEcon

(S/O to @Wootenomics for finding this clip for me as I am awful at searching the internets)https://t.co/O6Z68rAt3J

— James Tierney (@James_Tierney) June 21, 2018

2018 0

The Ranch — Market Forces

Beau thinks prices are low and waits for something to happen. Luckily the prices change when supply and demand changes for substitute goods!

Thanks to James Tierney for the clip and description.

2018 0

Ron White — Cost of Sunglasses

Ron isn’t sure how a pair of sunglasses can cost more than a color television. On a recent trip to the Sunglass Hut to pick up a pair of new sunglasses, he encounters a salesperson who tries to convince him that the elimination of UV rays makes the glasses worth their price tag. Ron, not so politely, disagrees.

2017 0

I Love Lucy — 5 Cent Hamburgers

Price wars aren’t good for business profits, which is why many firms may want to collude. If two goods are close substitutes, prices should be driven down near the marginal cost of production. This is a good introduction to the long run outcome of perfect competition, but can also be used to show the shut down rule. When prices drop too low, it may be worth some firms to stop production.

2017 0