From ABBA to Led Zeppelin: using music to teach economics
From ABBA to Led Zeppelin: using music to teach economics

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Whoops - Blues Traveler

JEL: d h     

Take a look at the horizon
Quiet and still
You know there used to be bison
Gentlemen you may fire at will
They say this land won't go to waste
But you gotta wonder how
You know we're chopping down the air we
breathe
As fodder for the cow

that's right so we can eat well
Yes and starve to death
And say there's nothing we can do

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Assignment:

When I was growing up my mother said not playing with a toy I purchased was wasteful. The lead singer of Blues Traveler, John Popper, is saying that using the land is causing it to go to waste. Which, if either, perspective is correct from an economic perspective? Your answer should discuss the role of property rights in efficient resource usage. Would your answer change if people owned the buffalo?

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