Don't Forget About Seinfeld!

Last week I was able to meet Linda Ghent at the National Economics Teaching Association Conference in Austin, Tx. Little did I know that Linda was the author of one of my favorite economics sources: YadaYadaYadaEcon.com, which covers Seinfeld if you didn't catch the reference.

If you like economics or you like Seinfeld, please check it out.

Community Service and Economics

It's no surprised that there is an underwhelming level of community service in our society, even though there are dozens of organizations in need of volunteers. Washington State University even has a designated office on campus to help connect students with volunteer opportunities. Since I started teaching, I knew that integrating community service into my courses was a priority. I really started it last semester with a canned food drive:

For a mere 3 bonus points (0.3% of their final grade), I volunteered to take canned food or toiletries to the CAC Food Bank on their behalf. The results were overwhelming to say the least. The class of 200 students responded by bringing in over 500 cans of food, 68 paper products, and dozens of "other" goods.

The first response I received from fellow faculty members was, "what does this have to do with economics?" I quickly told them nothing, and that I wanted to give them the opportunity to give back to the community. So I took the challenge to implement economics and community service together. Using a GoFundMe All-Or-Nothing Campaign, I challenged my 100 person course to raise a little over $500 to donate to the local YMCA. If the class meets the goal by the deadline, the YMCA will receive $500 and every person in the class (regardless of whether they donate) will receive 15 bonus points, plus some incentives along the way.

Hopefully our well versed economists know what economic theory will suggest, but do you think that will be the actual result? Can the students overcome the theory and reach the socially optimal outcome? I guess we'll find out in 16 days!  Do you have any other ideas on how to link community service with economics? 

Diminishing Marginal Utility with Swiss Cake Rolls

This challenge would have definitely centered around Twinkies, had it not been for their bankruptcy and subsequent disappearance from shelves. Hopefully a deal can be reached to bring back the golden rolls of glory in time for this summer. Until then, Swiss Cake Rolls must suffice.

Early in every semester, I like to engage the class in a "real life" example of some type of economic phenomenon. Too often, instructors jump in with the dull routine of supply vs. demand, and efficiency vs. equity. Instead, I like to grab a few students, make them engulf 10 Swiss Cake Rolls (voluntarily of course), and then ask them how they feel. Luckily for the class, that concept won't be taught for a few weeks, but it at least gets them excited about economics.

For those unfamiliar with diminishing returns, as people employ additional units of inputs, their output increases at a decreasing rate. What does that have to do with Swiss Cake Rolls? Consider our hungry eaters as trying to maximize their utility (output) by consuming the delectable dessert (inputs). They were extremely happy with the first one, but the second one didn't bring them nearly as much satisfaction, nor did the subsequent desserts. On the consumer side, this is referred to as diminishing marginal utility. The video should help show the effects of diminishing returns. Thankfully no one had negative returns:

Rum and Coke: A Case of Complements

During my Fundamentals of Microeconomics class I routinely used alcohol for almost every section of my lessons. Why? College students understand alcohol much better than they do wheat and butter. Almost every chapter can be adapted to include some reference to alcohol, its production, or its consumption.

A fellow Twitter economist (@Patelnomics) posted a nice graphic of complements. I'm not sure where the source originated, but I found it from his, so I'll give him proper credit. Without a doubt, this is a great example of stores bundling complementary goods to reduce the search costs of buyers.

What was your favorite example of complements as an economics student? What did your professors use that you found boring?

Classes Start Soon

My first Fundamentals of Microeconomics starts on Tuesday next week, and I think the best preparation for incoming freshman may be to read this article:

Classroom Etiquette 101

It basically points out classroom etiquette that most instructors notice, but students never come out and say. The best part of this article is that it's written by a student to other students. If you're a college student, please take the time to read this and think about your actions.

It will be interesting to see how the things I've learned from teaching Sports Economics translates into a principles course.

Econ of Sports: Course Evaluations

I taught Sports Economics during the first summer session at Washington State University, and I finally got the comments back from the course evaluations. Overall, I was very happy with how the class ended, so I was really looking forward to the evaluations. Here are some of the comments from the report:

"He was excellent in offering whatever the students needed help or questions about. Always in a good mood and ready [sic] does love teaching this course, it shows in his performance."

"Jadrian was able to explain simple econ concepts in a way that is understandable. This course is a great supplement to econ majors."

"His interaction with the students and wanting them to learn and ask questions. He knew his stuff so if we did have questions he would break it down to make it easier to understand."