Homer Economicus

The Simpsons and Economics
Herausgeber: Hall, Joshua

• Gebundenes Buch

Produktbeschreibung

Joshua C. Hall is Associate Professor of Economics at West Virginia University. Formerly an Economist for the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress, he is a co-author of the widely-cited Economic Freedom of the World reports and author of over 50 articles in journals. Hall has taught principles of microeconomics throughout his career.

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Produktdetails

• Verlag: Stanford University Press
• Seitenzahl: 256
• Erscheinungstermin: 14. Mai 2014
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 230mm x 163mm x 20mm
• Gewicht: 463g
• ISBN-13: 9780804790970
• ISBN-10: 0804790973
• Artikelnr.: 40455969

Autorenporträt

Joshua C. Hall is Associate Professor of Economics at West Virginia University. Formerly an Economist for the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress, he is a co-author of the widely-cited Economic Freedom of the World reports and author of over 50 articles in journals. Hall has taught principles of microeconomics throughout his career.

Inhaltsangabe

Contents and Abstracts
1Scarcity, Specialization, and Squishees: The Simpsons as Homo Economicus
chapter abstract
Using the characters of The Simpsons and their lives in the town of
Springfield, this chapter outlines the fundamental concepts of the economic
way of thinking. Economics is built on a core set of principles that must
be mastered before meaningful economic analysis can be performed. Ten
principles are outlined that provide the starting point for basic economic
reasoning. These principles are then illustrated with numerous examples
drawn from the actions and interactions of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, Maggie
and the rest of the residents of Springfield.
2Where the Invisible Hand Has Only Four Fingers: Supply, Demand, and the
Market Process in Springfield
chapter abstract
This chapter uses examples from The Simpsons to further illustrate the
supply and demand sides of the market, with special emphasis on the market
as a process. The most basic lessons of economics are that incentives
matter, information about the value of scarce resources is necessary, and
accurate feedback is required for individuals to make prudent decisions.
Property rights are important because they produce incentives, prices
provide information, and profit and loss accounting gives feedback to
decision makers. The competitive price system steers economic activity via
the structure of incentives and the flow of information so that dispersed
individuals within a society will coordinate their plans, and they will do
so in such a way that in the limit all the gains from exchange will be
exhausted and all least-cost methods of production will be utilized.
3A Pile of Krusty Burgers Embiggens the Fattest Man: Obesity, Incentives,
and Unintended Consequences in "King-Size Homer"
chapter abstract
Public policies have unintended consequences and can sometimes actually be
counterproductive. In some cases, public policies hurt exactly the people a
policy is intended to help. The Simpsons episode "King-Size Homer"
illustrates how policies have unintended consequences-and how people
respond to incentives-by telling us the story of how Homer Simpson
ballooned up to three hundred pounds in order to take advantage of
disability regulations. Furthermore, this episode shows how changing
incentives might cause people to make more self-destructive decisions in
the short run. The episode illustrates a number of important economic
principles, including trade-offs, marginal analysis, the role of
incentives, and the law of unintended consequences.
4Twenty Dollars Can Buy Many Peanuts! Money and The Simpsons
chapter abstract
This chapter presents a discussion of the functions of money and its
evolution in the United States using examples from The Simpsons. Money is
something that is generally accepted as a means of payment for goods and
services. It functions as a medium of exchange, a unit of account, and a
store of value. Milhouse fears that he will be used like "currency" in
juvenile hall in the episode "Trilogy of Error." Actually, Milhouse does
not possess the properties that would make a good candidate for money.
Money arises from commodities that are widely valued, portable, divisible,
and durable. In "Half-Decent Proposal" Homer laments that he cannot print
his own money. Homer is 100 percent correct, but it's not only the
government that can print money. In fact, private banks create the majority
of new money in the United States economy.
5Thank You, Come Again: The Pursuit of Profits in Springfield
chapter abstract
This chapter employs numerous examples from The Simpsons to explain the
calculation of economic profits and highlight the role of said profits in
society. The importance of the opportunity cost concept, often ignored by
Homer Simpson, is emphasized throughout the chapter. The differences
between accounting costs and economic costs are discussed through examples
in which Homer fails to recognize opportunity costs and refuses to
recognize other costs associated with operating a business. The critical
function of profits and losses in a market economy are explained, with
special emphasis on the signals that economic profits and losses provide
for market participants. The chapter ends with a brief discussion of the
impact of barriers to entry on economic profit and profit opportunities.
6They Have the Internet on Computers Now? Entrepreneurship in The Simpsons
chapter abstract
This chapter introduces and discusses the theoretical and empirical body of
research on entrepreneurship. The occupational, structural, and functional
approaches to the study of entrepreneurship are discussed and illustrated
using many thoughtful entrepreneurial experiences from The Simpsons. In
addition, the meaning of entrepreneurship as judgment, alertness,
innovation, adaptation, and coordination or leadership is demonstrated.
Finally, the difference between productive, unproductive, and destructive
entrepreneurship is distinguished. The chapter is intended as an
introduction to the vast entrepreneurship literature and its many
approaches, theories, and interpretations.
7I've Got a Monopoly to Maintain! Market Failure in The Simpsons
chapter abstract
Modern economists have identified four main types of market failure:
monopoly, public goods, asymmetric information, and externalities. This
chapter takes a closer look at the first three types of market failure and,
using examples from The Simpsons, illustrates how market mechanisms can
overcome those market failure problems. Coolsville Comics, a competing
comic book store, destroys the Android's Dungeon's monopoly for comic books
in Springfield. Elinor Ostrom, the recent Nobel Prize winner in economics,
has illustrated that local self-governance institutions can overcome public
goods and commons problems. Efficiency wages easily overcome moral hazard
problems that result from asymmetric information problems, such as Bart
shirking on the job. Finally, gossip and brand names, such as Duff Beer,
overcome adverse selection problems in Springfield and the real world.
8Will You Stop That Infernal Racket!?! Externalities and The Simpsons
chapter abstract
This chapter will deal primarily with illustrating the concept of
externalities in economics by drawing upon examples and lessons in The
Simpsons. The objectives will be to (1) distinguish the types of spillover
effects that separate social and private benefits and costs from those that
do not; (2) explicitly demonstrate the property rights problem generating
the externality; (3) demonstrate the different ways in which policies and
individuals try to resolve these problems; and (4) introduce the public
choice critique of government solutions, especially regulation.
9Mayors, Monorails, and Morons: Government Failure in The Simpsons
chapter abstract
This chapter presents the government failure (or public choice) perspective
as demonstrated in The Simpsons. The public choice perspective is the
application of the principles of market economics to the analysis of
government. Any differences that arise between individual choices in a
market versus a government setting occur because of differences in the
institutions that constrain individuals in the market versus in the public
sphere. Choice in a public setting is channeled through political
institutions such as elections and the voting system. The elections of
Sideshow Bob as mayor and of Homer as sanitation commissioner illustrate
the problems with choice in a public setting. It is the institutions rather
than the motivations that differ in both settings. Like any market agent,
public officials in The Simpsons are presented as self-interested.
Crucially, they are also presented as being as good as any alternative.
There are no superhumans in The Simpsons.
10Coming to Homerica: The Economics of Immigration
chapter abstract
Like many people throughout history, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon's decision to
migrate from a poorer place (India) to a richer one (Springfield) was in
part an economic one. This chapter uses Apu's situation in the episode
"Much Apu About Nothing" as a case study to demonstrate how economists
study migration. As the standard models suggest, Apu receives benefits and
incurs costs as a result of migrating. The impact of a large migration on
an economy is analyzed using the great wave of Ogdenvillians who came to
Springfield in The Simpsons episode "Coming to Homerica." The chapter
further examines the effect of immigration on wages, taxes, and government
spending.
11Donut and Dimed: Labor Markets in Springfield
chapter abstract
This chapter presents an overview of labor markets through the lens of The
Simpsons. Differences in salary across professions and locations are
explained using examples drawn from the popular show. Utilizing the
perspectives and techniques of labor economics, the following questions are
discussed: (1) How can a Joe Sixpack guy like Homer Simpson afford a
four-bedroom house with a two-car garage in a world with horrible greedy
bosses? and (2) What can people do to earn more money in a market system?
In the course of the discussion, the chapter outlines the many things that
Homer does to afford his lifestyle, such as earning a compensating
differential, searching for a better job, signaling his abilities, and
engaging in entrepreneurial activity.
12Paging Dr. Hibbert: What The Simpsons Can Teach Us About Health Economics
chapter abstract
The rise in health care costs over the past few decades and the recent
passage of major health care legislation has brought health economics to
the forefront of current policy discourse. By satirizing issues in health
care faced by many Americans, The Simpsons provides a mechanism by which to
relate health economics to our daily lives. This chapter provides an
overview of several of the main concepts in health economics, connecting
each concept to its illustration in a particular episode of The Simpsons.
In doing so, the chapter focuses on the economic issues considered
especially unique to health care markets, including the demand for and
production of health, asymmetric information and physician agency,
incentives surrounding third-party payers, and the interactions between
government and the health care sector. The chapter shows that all students
of economics, including consumers and health care practitioners, have
something to learn from The Simpsons.
13At First I Thought Prohibition Was a Good Thing: The Economics of Alcohol
Control
chapter abstract
In The Simpsons episode "Homer vs. the Eighteenth Amendment," Springfield
enforces a prohibition on alcohol and a wide variety of economic
consequences follow, including organized crime, violence, bootlegging,
moonshining, and speakeasies. Homer becomes a successful smuggler and
moonshiner and is dubbed the Beer Baron. In this chapter, Springfield's
experience with prohibition is discussed in light of the literature on the
economic effects of prohibition. In addition to finding that the economic
results of prohibition are predictable on the basis of economic theory,
prohibition is found to be counterproductive to the goals of prohibition
and detrimental to freedom. This chapter also explores similarities to the
War on Drugs.
14Mr. Burns' Casino: The Economics of Casino Gambling
chapter abstract
The Simpsons episode on casino gambling titled "$pringfield (Or, How I
Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling)" aired in the early
1990s. Yet it highlighted some of the controversial issues related to
casino economics that are still being debated today. The chapter examines
some of the key controversies over the economic and social impacts of legal
casinos. On the benefits side, the chapter addresses tax revenues,
employment effects, and the consumer benefits from the expansion of
legalized gambling. On the cost side, the discussion addresses pathological
gambling and related behaviors, social costs, negative externalities, and
moral objections to gambling.
15Homer Econonomicus or Homer Sapiens? Behavioral Economics in The Simpsons
chapter abstract
Behavioral economists study the ways in which people act irrationally (that
is, at odds with their objective long-term best interests), and behavioral
economics research has identified and characterized a number of consistent
biases in decision making. An interesting feature of the characters in The
Simpsons is that they illustrate many of the specific biases that
behavioral economists study, including time-inconsistency, loss aversion,
bounded rationality, and susceptibility to framing effects. Despite these
"human" characteristics, however, none of the characters can be viewed as
purely rational or irrational, and this feature contributes to the
relevancy and longevity of the show.
16From Rabbit Ears to Flat Screen: It's Getting Better All the Time
chapter abstract
The belief that American middle class economic well-being has stagnated, if
not declined, is commonplace in the media and among many pundits. However,
the economic data on what sorts of goods are actually in the households of
American families suggest that life has never been better, both for the
average and poorest American families. The chapter presents some of those
data, focusing on basic household appliances and technology. Twenty years
of The Simpsons illustrate these changes through the improvements in their
standard of living. From TVs to cell phones to computers, even as the
Simpson family remained solidly "upper-lower-middle class," the rising
buying power of Homer's wages and the falling cost of production combined
to bring them consumption possibilities their earlier selves did not have.