Assignment:

In the song, the narrator insists that he has to “catch ‘em all.” How elastic is the narrator’s demand for pokémon? Considering the law of diminishing marginal utility and the six factors that change the demand for a good, how realistic is his stated elasticity? In other words, is it usually efficient to “catch ‘em all”?

[Provided by Rhiannon Roselle - Beloit College]

Assignment:

“It’s better than yours/…/I can teach you/But I’d have to charge.” What sort of market structure is Kelis operating in: price taker, price searcher with low entry barriers, or price searcher with high entry barriers? How would competition affect Kelis’s market and what is she doing to protect her profits?

[Provided by Rhiannon Roselle - Beloit College]

Assignment:

The speaker is consoling a friend who can’t quite cut it in show business. He makes light of the situation by telling his friend, “You got the kitchen hand job easily/ You'll be king of this here town.”

Is “the friend” better off for taking this job right away and making some money? If this person were to remain unemployed, how long would they be considered part of the workforce? What type of unemployment is this: frictional, structural, cyclical?

[Provided by Shelley Quade - Beloit College]

Assignment:

What is the main purpose of the money according to the song? Is money really that powerful? Can it replace happiness in your opinion? What is the purpose of the money if not to afford happiness? Is the song being realistic about the role of money? Why or why not?

[Provided by Ilija Bojovic - Beloit College]

Assignment:

In the song "Slow Motion" we see a young man appearing to make several bad decisions. To many, these decisions are irrational. But are they? Explain the young man's actions as a rational. Your answer should discuss the marginal benefits of conducting the violence, drug intake, and sex as compared to the marginal costs of each action.

[Provided by Rajeev Viswanathan - Beloit College]

Assignment:

What was the economic advantage to engaging in slavery? Why did they choose to engage in economic ventures in Barbados rather than remaining in their home country, especially given the high start up costs (ship construction, supplies for the voyage, etc)? What are the opportunity costs of starting up a overseas economic venture? Given the high levels of unemployment in Enlightenment-era Europe, why didn’t more Europeans join colonization efforts in order to escape
their economic plight? What could be some long term costs of natural resource consumption associated with such “ghostly crimes?”

[Provided by Tim Schutt - Beloit College]

Assignment:

In "Day Job," Gin Blossoms lead singer Robin Wilson sings about the disillusionment that greets many college graduates, and wonders whether he should return to college and complete his degree. When might the marginal benefits of a greater possibility of graduating and finding a better job be exceeded by the marginal costs of spending time and money at college instead of being fully employed? Should the singer return to college due to the sunk costs of already having attended for some time? What are the opportunity costs of completing college?

[Provided by Kevin Axe - Beloit College]

Assignment:

The narrator expresses his decision not to put the effort into trying to win the girl’s love because the more time he spends the less energy he has. How do the marginal benefits and the marginal costs of this effort influence his decision? Keeping the concept of sunk costs in mind (“…I’ve done it before”), should the amount of time he has already invested in the girl influence his decision? Why or why not?

[Provided by Emory Nelms - Beloit College]

Assignment:

In "10 Dollar" M.I.A. sings about a young child who had her sights set on better things but is stuck in the sex industry. What are the costs and benefits of this girl engaging in the underground economy? How are the opportunities for this girl different since she comes from a developing country? Is her choice rational to charge 10 dollars for sex?

[Provided by Sophie Kaufman - Beloit College]

Assignment:

In the song, Clash lead singer Joe Strummer sings about job opportunities available and how he doesn’t want any of them. Does this mean he is unemployed? If so, what type of unemployment is it? What is the opportunity cost of him not taking the job? Can it be beneficial for the economy if citizens don’t take jobs offered to them? In the song, Strummer mentions many of his “career opportunities”, many which are jobs with the government; do you think it is beneficial for the government to offer low-paying jobs to jumpstart the economy? Weigh both the pros and cons for of Strummer's decision to not join the labor force.

[Provided by Bebe Santa-Wood - Beloit College]

Assignment:

After reading the reading the lyrics describe the sacrifices (opportunity costs) of going to and preparing for war.

[Provided by E. Frank Stephenson - Berry College]

Assignment:

According to the song, what is Harvey's reservation price for an evening with his friend the narrator, as illustrated by his behavior? What are the opportunity costs of Harvey's activities? Why do people partake in what to outsiders seems like risky behavior? Put yourself in Harvey's shoes and justify his behavior in cost-benefit terms. Are his costs really that "the misses will kill me/I'll surely be done"?

[Provided by Alex Ebner (Student - Beloit College)]

Assignment:

Put yourself in the shoes of the "girl". Should she be pleased at the line "with each passing minute your marginal cost goes up?" Why or why not?

Assignment:

Most people interpret “Refugee” as a song about a woman who’s had a rough go of it in life. But, embedded in the song is a message of the role freedom plays in NOT living like a refugee. Petty, in some sense, is telling listeners that freedom promotes a better life. This message is one that is consistent with many of the findings in macroeconomics: more open and economically free societies prosper; societies that are less free struggle. How would you define economic freedom? How does this differ than your definition of political freedom? How, specifically, does freedom tend to make people more prosperous? Finally, what can policymakers do to increase freedom in a society?

[Provided by Scott Beaulier (Mercer University)]

Assignment:

Many rock stars like Neil Young get a maid. Why don’t they do their own cleaning and fix their own meals? If you were thinking about getting a maid what information would you need to make that decision? For example, if you could hire a maid for $100 per day to cook and clean, would you hire her? Does your answer differ if you are a successful lawyer or a burger flipper? Why?

[Provided by Simon Medcalfe (Brenau U.)]

Assignment:

James Dean Bradfiled sings about a war veteran that has to sell his medal to pay a bill. Economics textbooks tell us about winners and loosers from inflation. How does inflation destroy buying power? Why are war veterans more affected by this than other members of society to such an extent that they have to sell their medals? What policy solutions would help veterans combat the affects of inflation?

[Provided by Simon Medcalfe (Brenau U.)]

Assignment:

Are motorcyclists that ride without helmets – with their long blonde hair flyin in the wind - rational? What are the costs and benefits of not wearing a motorcycle helmet? Thaler and Sunstein in their book Nudge (2008) suggest that motorcycle riders who want to “have their long blonde hair flyin in the wind” should take an extra driving course and submit proof of health insurance (this suggestion is based on a New York Times column by John Tierney in 2006). How would such a proposal affect the costs and benefits of not wearing a helmet? Is this proposal better than government mandated universal helmet laws? Why?

[Provided by Simon Medcalfe (Brenau U.)]

Assignment:

Based off of the James Hetfield lyrics in the song Master Of Puppets, describe why someone would continue to engage in behavior that is self-damaging, expensive, and time consuming. What effect does past consumption have in an addictive setting? How does an addiction make sense economically? Your might want to refer to the article "A Theory of Rational Addiction" by Gary S. Becker and Kevin M. Murphy.

[Provided by Noah Watenmaker (Student - Beloit College)]

Assignment:

How does the government calculate the unemployment rate? If Liam Gallagher decides it is not “worth the aggravation to find yourself a job when there’s nothing worth looking for” how does this affect the unemployment rate? Is Liam classified as unemployed? Should he be? What is the number of discouraged workers in the US at the current time (use www.bls.gov)?

[Provided by Simon Medcalfe (Brenau U.)]

Assignment:

Economists use GDP to measure the total production in an economy. Sometimes GDP is used as a measure of well-being. However, as Neil Young points out, GDP is not a perfect measure of well being. For example, it is not adjusted for inequality (the homeless man), crime (a kinder, gentler, machine gun hand), and pollution (Styrofoam boxes for the ozone layer). What other factors affect our well being but are not calculated in GDP? If we included these other factors that affect our well being, does GDP over estimate or underestimate our well being?

[Provided by Simon Medcalfe (Brenau U.)]

Assignment:

Economists divide unemployment into three categories: frictional, structural, and cyclical. What type of unemployment does Bruce Springsteen suffer from? What is today’s unemployment rate? How much of today’s unemployment is frictional unemployment? How much is structural unemployment? How much is cyclical unemployment?

[Provided by Simon Medcalfe (Brenau U.)]

Assignment:

What is the effect of emigration on the country of origin? What is the effect of immigration on the host country? Do you think most immigrants work (for example on the railroad, or as police officers) or do you think they take government assistance (dollars from the White House)? How quickly do immigrants assimilate into a new country: is it “months and years” or do their teardrops quickly dry?

[Provided by Simon Medcalfe (Brenau U.)]

Assignment:

Draw a supply and demand diagram that shows the boss receiving “the lions share bliss” while someone who scrubs floors gets much less. In other words, what factors would affect supply and demand such that CEO’s receive 300 times the compensation of average workers? Are CEO’s paid too much?

[Provided by Simon Medcalfe (Brenau U.)]

Assignment:

Mark Knopfler claims that musicians get money for nothing. Do you agree with this statement? Can you get anything for nothing? What are the costs of being a musician? Make sure you discuss the opportunity costs.

[Provided by Simon Medcalfe (Brenau U.)]

Assignment:

Janis Joplin wants a Mercedes Benz in order to keep up with her friends. Economist Robert Frank writes about how people seek status in a game of constantly trying to outdo each other. He has advocated highly progressive taxes in order to reduce the ability of people to seek status by earning more money than others. What do you think of this idea? Assuming people aren’t able to achieve high status by making a lot of money, what other means, good and bad, do you think people might choose to achieve status among their peers?

Assignment:

As the song notes, sometimes "we just disagree".  In economic life people often disagree about how resources should be used.  Some may want to use a tract of land to build houses, another to farm, and still another may want to have the land used as a nature preserve.  In his article, The Problem of Social Cost, Ronald Coase talks about the "reciprocal nature of the problem".  What does Coase's insight tell us about how disagreements can be settled efficiently?  What barriers exist to solving these problems efficiently in real life?

[Will Luther assisted with this assignment.]

Assignment:

Economists often use supply and demand curves to illustrate markets. Changes in income, preferences, and the price of a substitute or complement shift demand curves to the left and right. In the lyrics above, lead singer Anni-Frid Lyngstad is tired of the hard work life requires and plans to marry a wealthy man. If successful, how would this marriage change the artist’s demand for goods? How would it change her supply of labor? Illustrate both changes with supply and demand curves. Be sure to explain what is happening in the diagrams.

[Will Luther assisted with this assignment.]

Assignment:

The lyrics above remind us that there is a lot to do in one short lifetime. Freddie Mercury, Queen’s lead singer, asserts that he wants it all and he wants it now. Do you prefer to consume goods in the present or future? With reference to these lyrics, explain why individuals charge interest for deferring consumption.

[Will Luther assisted with this assignment.]

Assignment:

Every card game operates under a set of rules. These rules allow the players to know how to play the game. Legal institutions, like the rules of a card game, show economic agents “when to hold ‘em” and “when to fold ‘em” with respect to economic decisions. With an example, show how the rules under which individuals act might affect their decisions. What rules are necessary for markets to work well?

[Will Luther assisted with this assignment.]

Assignment:

This classic Donna Summer song is about a waitress she met at a local restaurant who was working two jobs. Donna could see “she works hard for the money.” Many economists are somewhat puzzled by tipping behavior. The tip is given after the meal – when it has no impact on the service rendered. Yet most people tip in spite of that fact. Explain why consumer’s tip and under what circumstances you’d expect tips to be less and more generous.