My Personal Property (Sweet Charity)
Charity is singing about how New York City is like her own personal property. We use this to explore the benefits of property rights and the tragedy of the commons.
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Hey Big Spender (Sweet Charity)
The dancers try to entice the “big spender”. This song is a good introduction to a lesson on rent seeking. The “big spender” could provide a big payoff – and…
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It Sucks to Be Me (Avenue Q)
The humans and monsters who live on Avenue Q sing about their lives, and in it there are a lessons on unemployment, the economics of beauty, immigration, and more!
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No Friends (Almost Famous the Musical)
William is being paid to follow the band Stillwater on tour. He thinks they are great, but he is cautioned by Rolling Stone not to make friends with the band….
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Fabulous (High School Musical 2)
Sharpay Evans and her entourage sing of their luxurious lives as summer approaches. Though their lives are ‘fabulous,’ how did they become rich and what can countries do to own…
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I Want the Good Times Back (The Little Mermaid)
Ursella is trying to decide how she is to reclaim ownership of the sea from her brother. In order to develop a plan, she thinks like an economist, using backward…
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Spoonful of Sugar (Mary Poppins)
We all know that a “Spoonful of Sugar” helps the medicine go down; however, have you ever thought about why is it exactly a spoonful (why not more or less)?…
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Dear Sweet Sewing Machine (Fiddler on the Roof)
Motel is happily singing about his newly acquired sewing machine. it may seem strange for us; however, in 1905 Russia, having a sewing machine was a big deal for a…
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More is Better (Mean Girls The Musical)
Cady sings that “more is always better,” which is something that is typically assumed in economics. This is not always the case though, as the law of diminishing marginal utility…
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The Squip Song (Be More Chill)
There are many items with inelastic demand- in this case, it’s the Squip. The squip is a pill that people take to help them “be more chill”. If Jeremy wants…
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