Teaching Economics with Media
Barney’s girlfriend finds his closet full of suits and gives him an ultimatum. He must choose between a closet of suits that he loves or a beautiful girl. He then breaks out into song about the benefits of both before ultimately making his final decisions.
Thanks for the recommendation Courtney Conrad!
Many people are upset with outsourcing, but they aren’t willing to pay the price difference to ensure their products are made in America. In this scene from Outsourced, Asha walks an angry customer through the process of locating an American-made product only to find that he isn’t interested in paying the higher price.
This clip is a great introduction to monopolistic competition. Each performer provides a similar service, but they are not perfect substitutes for one another. When a new competitor enters a market, the demand for the original firms decreases and profits should fall as well.
Adam does a great job working through the inefficiency of gift giving because of how people value different items.
A good topic in the behavioral section covers blind tastings and price anchors. The story of wine rating inconsistencies (here’s one from Vox) is a great example and this video can be used to put a little humor into the narrative.