Links, Videos and Podcasts

1. Econ Ed from the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank

https://www.stlouisfed.org/education Links to an external site.

https://www.federalreserveeducation.org/ Links to an external site.

2. Khan Academy

Microeconomics

https://www.khanacademy.org/economics-finance-domain/microeconomics Links to an external site.

Macroeconomics

https://www.khanacademy.org/economics-finance-domain/macroeconomics Links to an external site.

3. Freakonomics Radio Podcasts

http://freakonomics.com/ Links to an external site.

 

4. NPR Planet Money Podcast Assignments

by Michael Levine at San Bernardino Valley College  (mlevine@valleycollege.edu)

 

Planet Money #219

Would You Rather Be Rich in 1900 or Middle-Class Now?

Key Topics: Fair Division, Economic Growth

Synopsis: Economics professors discuss two questions, how do a limited number of seats in a crowded lecture hall get allocated and would you rather live a middle-class life now or be rich in 1900.

Link to Podcast: Planet Money #219 Links to an external site.

Worksheet Questions:

  1. What are two of the potential solutions to overcrowding Allen Sanderson suggested in the podcast?
  2. Why might selling the seats lead to an efficient outcome?
  3. Prof. Sanderson says nearly all issues in society come down to a tradeoff between two major things, what two things was he referring to?
  4. How much money did the podcast consider a middle-class income now, but a very large income now?
  5. What is the major argument behind choosing to be middle-class now?

 

Discussion Questions:

  1. Would you rather be rich in 1900 or middle-class now?  Why?
  2. Let's say you and a friend are move into a two bedroom apartment that costs $1000 per month.  One bedroom has an attached bath and large closet the other is smaller, shares a bathroom with the main living space, and has a small closet.  How do you decide who gets what bedroom? How do you decide how much each roommate pays?

 

Planet Money #227

Lighthouses, Autopsies, and the Federal Government

Key Topics: Public Goods, Federal Budgets

Synopsis: Economist Charlie Wheelan explains the characteristics of a public good, why the government should fund certain goods and not others.

Link to Podcast: Planet Money #227 Links to an external site.

Worksheet Questions:

  1. What is Charlie Wheelans “classic example of a public good?
  2. Prior to the establishment of the US Lighthouse service, few lighthouses were built, why?
  3. How does the knowledge gained from an autopsy fit the description of a public good?
  4. What is the podcasts example of something the government should not be funding?
  5. How did Charlie Wheelan do in his democratic primary?

 

Discussion Questions:

  1. Explain why an autopsy fits the description of a public good. Isn’t an autopsy excludable?
  2. Can you name any good or services the government provides that do not fit the description of a public good, aside from the example given in the Podcast?
  3. If your community was considering building a public park without government assistance, do you believe it could happen? Or is the free-rider problem too great to overcome?

 

Planet Money #238

Making Christmas More Joyful and More Efficient

Key Topics: Deadweight Loss, Efficiency

Synopsis: The Planet Money team randomly distribute candy to a fifth grade class to demonstrate the inefficiency of gift giving.

Link to Podcast: Planet Money #238 Links to an external site.

Worksheet Questions:

  1. Explain the problem of deadweight loss associated with giving at Christmas?
  2. According to Joel Waldfogel how much value is “destroyed” as a result of Christmas gift giving?
  3. How did the Planet Money staff measure the “wealth” in the classroom after the candy was distributed?
  4. What was the total level of “wealth” before the children were allowed to exchange? What was the level after?

 

Discussion Questions:

  1. Do you agree with the assertion that gift giving creates deadweight loss? Is there some value in gift giving that the economist was not taking into consideration?
  2. Are there other examples of cultural habits or norms that you participate in that create welfare loss?

Planet Money #387

The No-Brainer Economic Platforms

Key Topics: Fiscal Policy, Taxes, Federal Budgets

Synopsis: Economists from all over the political spectrum discuss policies that, while most economists agree would be beneficial, would be unpopular to the public.

Link to Podcast: Planet Money #387 Links to an external site.

Worksheet Questions:

  1. What was Plank #1 and, briefly, why do the economists favor such a reform?
  2. What was Plank #2 and, briefly, why do the economists favor such a reform?
  3. What was Plank #3 and, briefly, why do the economists favor such a reform?
  4. What were Planks #4/5 and, briefly, why do the economists favor such reforms?
  5. What was Plank #6 and, briefly, why do the economists favor such a reform?

Discussion Questions:

  1. Which of the planks do you think would be the best reform for the United States?  Which do you think is the worst? Why?
  2. Do you think any of these planks could realistically be implemented?  What would be the major obstacles?
  3. Would you vote for this “candidate”?

 

Planet Money #427

Is LeBron James Underpaid?

Key Topics: Labor Economics, Wages, Productivity

Synopsis: LeBron James’ salary is compared to his value to reveal he is drastically underpaid, however, he should be okay with that fact.

Link to Podcast: Planet Money #427 Links to an external site.

Worksheet Questions:

  1. How did economists estimate LeBron’s value?
  2. How much should LeBron be making per year (at the time of the podcast)?
  3. Why do rank and file members of the NBA, like Mike Miller, enjoy the system that underpays LeBron?
  4. Why do NBA fans, like economist Kevin Greer, enjoy the system that underpays LeBron?
  5. Why do NBA superstars, like LeBron himself, enjoy the system that underpays LeBron?

Discussion Questions:

  1. Do you think employees in systems without salary caps and maximum contracts are paid according to their actual value?  
  2. The podcast discussed all the winners in the NBA’s anti-competitive salary system.  Are there any losers? Is anybody worse off?

Planet Money #438

Mavericks, Monopoly, and Beer

Key Topics: Monopoly, Oligopoly, Antitrust

Synopsis: The story of Anheuser Busch - InBEv’s attempt to acquire Grupo Modelo and how the antitrust division of the DOJ operates.

Link to Podcast: Planet Money #438 Links to an external site.

Worksheet Questions:

  1. What do Becks, Grolsch, Stella, Leffe Blonde, and Boddingtons have in common?
  2. What is the principal focus of the DOJ Antitrust Division?
  3. What is a hot document?
  4. At the time of the podcast, what percentage of the US beer market was controlled by Grupo Modelo?
  5. What is a maverick, and now does Grupo Modelo fit that mold?

Discussion Questions:

  1. If two privately owned companies want to merge, is it fair for the government to step in and stay they can’t?  
  2. Take a look at the brands owned by the large beer companies, did you realize there was so little competition in the beer market? Beer Market Concentration Links to an external site.

 

Planet Money #451

Why Some People Love Tax Day?

Key Topics: Taxes, EITC

Synopsis: All about the earned income tax credit.

Link to Podcast: Planet Money #451 Links to an external site.

Worksheet Questions:

  1. What were the two goals the EITC architects were trying to accomplish?
  2. How is the EITC better at encouraging people to work than other government aid programs like subsidized housing or Medicaid?
  3. Why do aid recipients like Ray Osorio prefer cash transfers to in-kind transfers?
  4. What did conservative economist Milton Friedman call his proposal that led to what ended up being the EITC?
  5. How did Mariana Ochoa “waste” her EITC money?  Why are even conservative economists sometimes okay with that?

Discussion Questions:

  1. Do you think government aid should be in the form of money, like the EITC, or are you  in favor of food/healthcare/etc assistance so people can’t use taxpayer money on trips and other luxuries.
  2. Did you know about the EITC?   A program that is designed to encourage people to work will only be effective if people know about it.  How else can the government make sure people know that this money is available to them.

Planet Money #485

What’s Your Major?

Key Topics: College Major, Earnings, Returns to Education

Synopsis: A discussion of the importance of college major choice and the impact on expected earnings.

Link to Podcast: Planet Money #485 Links to an external site.

Worksheet Questions:

  1. What is the highest earning undergraduate major with a median earning of $120K?
  2. What was the lowest earning major in Carnevale’s study?
  3. How do supply and demand create the stark differences in pay between the highest and lowest earning major?
  4. What step do many psychology majors take that make the earnings for psych majors not as low as initially reported?
  5. According to Carnevale what is more important for future earnings, the school you go to, or the major you choose?

Discussion Questions:

  1. If you have chosen a major, how much did the economic outlook impact your choice of major?  Look up your major at this website, does the typical earnings surprise you? College Major Earnings Data Links to an external site.
  2. Hopefully we all agree that a high salary isn’t the only thing that matters in a career, what else should we consider when thinking about a career and should these considerations extend to college major choice?

Planet Money #505

A Locked Room a Secret Meeting and the Birth of the Fed?

Key Topics: Federal Reserve

Synopsis: The origin of the Federal Reserve Bank in in the early 20th Century

Link to Podcast: Planet Money #505 Links to an external site.

Worksheet Questions:

  1. What natural disaster preempted the creation of the Federal Reserve Bank?
  2. Who did the United States turn to to save the economy during the Panic of '07?  
  3. When the most powerful bankers in the United States met to meet about planning the central bank, how were they dressed?
  4. What was the great "work-around" to help the country get behind the idea of a central bank, knows as the Aldrich plan?
  5. What United States President signed the Federal Reserve acted officially creating the modern "Fed".

Discussion Questions:

  1. Imagine the US Government turning to the wealthiest men in America like Jeff Bezos or Bill Gates to save the economy, how do you think Americans would react to that?
  2. Could a panic happen today where too many people try to take their money out of the bank at once?  Why or why not?

Planet Money #522

The Invention of the Economy

Key Topics: GDP

Synopsis: The story of how Gross Domestic Product was first calculated and how it evolved into what it is today.

Link to Podcast: Planet Money #522 Links to an external site.

Worksheet Questions:

  1. If you went up to someone 100 years ago, and asked them how “the economy” was doing, how would they react?
  2. What event precipitated the creation of “the economy”.
  3. What was the name of the extremely serious man who was considered the founder of GDP?
  4. How did an understanding of GDP help in World War II?
  5. What is the criticism Robert Kennedy and Simon Kuznets levied for how GDP has been treated

Discussion Questions:

  1. What about the history and evolution of GDP did you find most interesting in this Podcast.
  2. Here is the list of countries by GDP per capita and World Happiness Report rankings. GDP Per Capita Links to an external site. WHR Rankings Links to an external site..  Toward the end of the podcast they talk about how GDP has become a measure of quality of life, and maybe that is incorrect.  Take a look at these rankings and decide for yourself if GDP is a good proxy for quality of life. What does GDP per capita leave out making it, perhaps, not a great proxy for quality of life.

 

Planet Money #538

Is a Stradivarius Just a Violin?

Key Topics: Demand, Behavioral Economics

Synopsis: An experiment tests if a Stradivarius is superior to a modern violin that costs 100 times less.

Link to Podcast: Planet Money #538 Links to an external site.

Worksheet Questions:

  1. How much does Tim Ingles expect the Strad introduced in the beginning to sell for at auction?
  2. What is the story about Josh Bell’s Strad that makes it famous and more valuable?
  3. How did the researches behind the “Paris Experiment” make the violin test “blind”, so that the players wouldn’t know what instrument they were playing.
  4. What was the analogy used by a member of the Juilliard String Quartet, comparing the violins in a hotel room was like _____________.
  5. Did the test confirm that the Stradivarius is worth the premium in price?

Discussion Questions:

  1. Why is it necessary to perform blind tests.  Why couldn’t they see what they were playing? Why can’t you tell participants in a medical trial if they are taking the real drug or a placebo?
  2. What does the story of the Strad make you think about brands you may love like Starbucks, Apple, or Haagen-Dazs which are generally more expensive than their competitors?  Do you think people are buying the product or the brand?
  3. Sometimes we purchase a product we assume is of superior quality simply because we have never seriously considered the alternatives  Are there any products that you purchase that under more scrutiny may not be worth the premium price?

 

Planet Money #562

A Mall Divided

Key Topics: Minimum Wage

Synopsis: A mall that straddles the border of two California cities must deal with different minimum wages on either side of the mall.

Link to Podcast: Planet Money #562 Links to an external site.

Worksheet Questions:

  1. What makes Westfield Valley Mall so strange?
  2. At the time of the podcast, what was the minimum wage in San Jose and what was the minimum wage in Santa Clara?
  3. How did the minimum wage change affect the Shoe Palace?
  4. What store was on the boundary between the cities?
  5. How does the Wetzel’s Pretzel’s owner deal with the minimum wage situation?

Discussion Questions:

  1. Do you think the problems faced by this mall are common in every situation where border cities have different minimum wages or do you think this was unique because the mall literally straddled the cities?  Explain.
  2. If you owned a business in the mall, what side would you want to be on?  One side must pay workers more, but it sounds like the other side has trouble attracting decent labor.

Planet Money #573

Why Textbook Prices Keep Climbing

Key Topics: Principal - Agent Problem, Demand, Prices

Synopsis: An analysis of why the prices of new textbooks have risen faster than inflation for years.

Link to Podcast: Planet Money #573 Links to an external site.

Worksheet Questions:

  1. Economist James Koch, when talking about the textbook he assigned in his classes, stated he knew it was well written, it has good problems, but he didn’t know what?
  2. What is the principal – agent problem?
  3. According to Greg Mankiw, the economist who wrote the expensive textbook, what other markets do consumers rely on other individuals to make informed decisions?
  4. Why do publishers earn a lower profit margin on high school textbooks than with college textbooks?
  5. How is the used textbook market helping to drive up the price of textbooks?

Discussion Questions:

  1. Explain when you have dealt with the principal - agent problem in an area outside of textb
  2. ooks.  Have you ever been the agent?
  3. What is the most you paid for a textbook?  This class, as you know, has no paid materials.  I believe there is a tradeoff in that there are superior paid materials out there.  Do you prefer saving the money, or are there features this course is missing that you would rather pay for?

Planet Money #584

What the LeBron?

Key Topics: Prices, Profit Maximization

Synopsis: A look at how Nike sets prices in the market for new limited edition sneakers.on either side of the mall.

Link to Podcast: Planet Money #584 Links to an external site.

Worksheet Questions:

  1. How much do consumers pay for a brand new pair of What the LeBron 11s?
  2. According to Shirod, one of the resellers in line, how much can the shoe immediately be resold for?
  3. According to Josh, who ran the sneaker data website, approximately how much money in sales does Nike lose to the resale market?
  4. Why is Nike doing things that prop up the resale market?  Why don’t they sell more shoes, and why don’t they increase the price?
  5. How much money did Shirod actually sell the What the Lebrons for?

Discussion Questions:

  1. Do you think this model of keeping prices low is going to work in the long run?  What could happen that could make Nike reconsider how they do business?
  2. Do you think a system that propagates individuals waiting in line for days to sell goods on the secondary market makes sense in this day and age?  Hasn’t the internet removed the need for this sort of behavior?

Planet Money #664

The Great Inflation?

Key Topics: Monetary Policy, Inflation, Federal Reserve

Synopsis: The story of Paul Volcker’s fight against inflation in the 1970’s.

Link to Podcast: Planet Money #664 Links to an external site.

Worksheet Questions:

  1. What were some of President Ford’s ideas to beat inflation?
  2. What does “WIN” stand for?
  3. What was Paul Volcker’s plan to tackle inflation?
  4. Explain the cycle where expected inflation creates inflation in a self-fulfilling prophecy.
  5. Why hasn’t the growth of money and strong economy we have witnessed in the last several years lead to inflation?

Discussion Questions:

  1. Do you think it was worth it?  If given the binary choice between long lasting high inflation or a deep recession, what do you think is worse for society?
  2. Do you think a more demand driven plan, like the plan President Ford tried to implement that was discussed in the beginning of the podcast, would be more likely to work now with the advent of social media and the possibility for a message to go viral?  Can you think of any times when the government or any organization tried to change people’s behavior toward some greater good using social media much in the way Ford tried to use the newspaper?

Planet Money #772

Small Change

Key Topics: Economic Growth, Productivity

Synopsis: Robert Gordon explains that while it feels like technology is changing faster than ever before, when it comes to technology that actually improves productivity, the US is at a standstill.  

Link to Podcast: Planet Money #772 Links to an external site.

Worksheet Questions:

  1. Explain, according to the Robert Gordon thought experiment, how the person from 1570/1670 would react to waking up in 1870.
  2. Explain, according to the Robert Gordon thought experiment, how the person from 1870 would react to waking up in 1940.
  3. What are the two key general purpose technology inventions that create the changes between 1870 and 1940.
  4. What was the next general purpose technology that greatly boosted productivity in the 1990’s.
  5. Describe productivity growth in the United States since 2004.

Discussion Questions:

  1. We all have a supercomputers in the palm of our hand, does it make sense to you that this hasn’t lead to productivity growth?
  2. What forthcoming technology that you have heard about or can imagine on the horizon that seems like it would have the largest impact on productivity?

Planet Money #864

The Central Bankers Question?

Key Topics: Monetary Policy, Federal Reserve, Inflation, Wage Growth

Synopsis: Planet Money reporters go to the Central Banker’s Conference to discuss why traditional monetary policy doesn’t seem to impact the economy the way it always has.

Link to Podcast: Planet Money #864 Links to an external site.

Worksheet Questions:

  1. What is the mystery/puzzle that the planet money reporters are trying to understand in this episode?
  2. Why is the Central Banker’s Conference held in Jackson Hole, Wyoming?
  3. What was the arguably clever name for the group of protestors who are protesting the conference?  What is their major gripe with the economy?
  4. According to John Van Reenen’s theory, how do the prices charged by big companies like Wal-Mart and Amazon influence inflation?
  5. What is monopsony power?

Discussion Questions:

  1. Do you think of the next ten or twenty years, the US will be more concentrated (a higher percentage of our consumer dollars going to a few huge companies) or less concentrated?  Has your personal spending become more concentrated over the previous decade or so?
  2. Does the podcast make you agree with protesters, that the Fed should keep interest rates low?