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:

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:

Liz Phair claims, if given the chance, individuals would wish for money. Why might money be the best gift one can give (hint)? If individuals can maximize utility with respect to income better than anyone else acting on his/her behalf, why are non-monetary gifts ever given?

Why don’t the presumed actions of the artist’s friends line up with what they say or “the way they see it”? In the real world, why might individuals hide their true preferences? Give examples.

[Will Luther assisted with this assignment.]

Assignment:

The artist of this song thinks it is a good idea to redistribute income. Construct an argument articulating the opposing view. Compare the last three lines in the lyrics above to Hayek’s conception of knowledge. How would this knowledge problem affect a policymaker’s ability to spend tax dollars efficiently?

[Will Luther assisted with this assignment.]

Assignment:

In the lyrics above, the artist complains about high gas prices. In 1918, the at-the-pump price of gas was only 25 cents/gallon. Is gas more expensive now than it was in 1918? Use the Consumer Price Index calculator to compare prices. Explain the difference between real and nominal prices and use these terms in your response.

[Will Luther assisted with this assignment.]

Assignment:

Losing it all is pretty rare; likewise, striking it rich is rare. But how rare? Go to your textbook or the internet (use a reputable source!) to find out how much income mobility exists in the U.S. economy. How common is it for someone in the top quintile of the income distribution to fall to the bottom quintile within (say) a decade? Is this more income mobility or less than you would have expected? What are some common explanations for such a decline in income?

Assignment:

While most people think of jobs as good things, economists are more likely to think of them as "bads". After reading the lyrics to this song, can you see why?

Assignment:

In this Weird Al parody of The BackStreet Boys' "I Want It That Way", he sings about buying and selling on eBay. In what way does eBay lower the transactions costs to buyers and sellers? eBay's feedback system allows buyers and sellers to rate each other. Why is this kind of information important to the functioning of the market? In other (non eBay) markets, how do buyers and sellers get this kind of information?

Assignment:

What is the implied rate of taxation in this Beatles song? Does this seem high to you? For comparison, what was the top marginal tax rate in the U.S. federal income tax code in 1960? In 1980? What incentives do you think are created when tax rates are this high? Why might lower tax rates be better from the standpoint of generating more government revenue?

Assignment:

Economics is sometimes dubbed the dismal science, in part because it emphasizes that there are costs/tradeoffs associated with everything we do. Why, according to economists, is getting people enough food, shoes, housing, etc. actually not as easy as the song suggests? If we could get everybody all the food, shoes, and housing they wanted, would we have any economic choices facing us?

Assignment:

This classic 1969/1970 song advocates that we "share the land." Do you think simply sharing the land is likely to lead to the good results suggested in the song ("no more sadness, no more sorrow...")? In writing your answer you might want to consider the idea of the "tragedy of the commons".

Assignment:

In this song the maples are upset about the "greedy" oaks and demand equality. Do you see any parallels between this song and policy issues such as anti-discrimination laws, affirmative action, set-asides, etc.? In your discussion be sure to highlight the notions of efficiency and equity/equality and the trade-offs that may exist in achieving these goals.

Assignment:

The singer of this song doesn't like safetybelts because they make it harder to get close to his loved one in the car. Of course, safety belts are a highly effective safety device. Using the language of economics, make the case that laws mandating the use of seatbelts are not beneficial to this person. Are there any exceptions or other circumstances that should be considered in the analysis besides this one person's well being?