Economics

Back in college, I took three Economics courses. I remember hearing about "guns and butter" and tuning out. I was totally confused. Somewhere in my third course, however, I had a breakthrough and suddenly understood the concepts.


I never considered being an Economics major - though I did end up studying for four other majors (Psychology, English, Math, and Business) - before settling on the one that I graduated with - Marketing.

I was thinking about Economics recently because NPR's Planet Money ran a story about the website The Economics of Seinfeld. From the website: Seinfeld ran for nine seasons on NBC and became famous as a “show about nothing.” Basically, the show allows viewers to follow the antics of Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer as they move through their daily lives, often encountering interesting people or dealing with special circumstances.

It is the simplicity of Seinfeld that makes it so appropriate for use in economics courses. Using these clips (as well as clips from other television shows or movies) makes economic concepts come alive, making them more real for students. Ultimately, students will start seeing economics everywhere – in other TV shows, in popular music, and most importantly, in their own lives.

I haven't yet read through the seven pages of examples, but the site does bring back the memories of college - and my fascination with Economics.