Unexpected Economics

Course Overview

Utilize economic thinking to illuminate a wide range of topics not typically understood to be economic in nature—from how we choose a mate to why we vote the way we do.

Course No. 5657

Explore why we make seemingly irrational choices in areas such as family size, voting behavior, and more. This course consists of 24 engaging lectures that reveal how economic principles apply to everyday decision-making. Professor Taylor challenges the notion of economics as merely “the dismal science,” offering insights from behavioral economics and illustrating the relevance of economic thinking in our lives.

Video Lectures

• The World of Choices
  • Duration: 32 min
  • Definition of economics and its relevance in various life choices.

2. A Market for Pregnancy
   • Duration: 28 min
   • The evolution and acceptance of economic transactions related to family planning.

• Selling a Kidney
  • Duration: 32 min
  • Examining the ethics and economics of organ sales.

• Traffic Congestion-Costs, Pricing, and You
  • Duration: 28 min
  • Analyzing traffic as a market failure and solutions like congestion pricing.

• Two-Way Ties between Religion and Economics
  • Duration: 31 min
  • Investigating how religious beliefs affect economic behavior.

• Prediction Markets-Windows on the Future
  • Duration: 29 min
  • Exploring how prediction markets aggregate information to forecast outcomes.

7. Pathways for Crime and Crime Fighting
   • Duration: 30 min
   • Understanding the economic incentives behind criminal behavior and law enforcement.

8. Terrorism as an Occupational Choice
   • Duration: 32 min
   • Analyzing the economic factors that influence individuals to engage in terrorism.

9. Marriage as a Search Market
   • Duration: 31 min
   • Exploring marriage dynamics through the lens of economic theory.

10. Procreation and Parenthood
    • Duration: 28 min
    • Examining modern child-rearing practices and economic implications.

11. Small Choices and Racial Discrimination
    • Duration: 32 min
    • Understanding economic factors influencing racial discrimination.

• Cooperation and the Prisoner’s Dilemma
  • Duration: 27 min
  • Analyzing the balance between competition and cooperation in economics.

• Fairness and the Ultimatum Game
  • Duration: 30 min
  • Delving into how perceptions of fairness can influence economic decisions.

14. Myopic Preferences and Behavioral Economics
    • Duration: 30 min
    • The impact of short-term thinking on economic choices.

15. Altruism, Charity, and Gifts
    • Duration: 32 min
    • Exploring motivations behind charitable acts and gifts.

16. Loss Aversion and Reference Point Bias
    • Duration: 29 min
    • How framing choices can affect decision-making.

• Risk and Uncertainty
  • Duration: 32 min
  • Understanding economic evaluations of risk in various contexts.

• Human Herds and Information Cascades
  • Duration: 30 min
  • Examining how group behavior can lead to economic consequences.

19. Addiction and Choice
    • Duration: 30 min
    • Economic analysis of addiction as a series of choices.

20. Obesity-Who Bears the Costs?
    • Duration: 32 min
    • The economic implications of rising obesity rates.

21. The Economics of Natural Disasters
    • Duration: 30 min
    • Policy responses to mitigate the effects of natural disasters.

22. Sports Lessons-Pay, Performance, Tournaments
    • Duration: 30 min
    • Insights from sports economics applicable to broader economic contexts.

23. Voting, Money, and Politics
    • Duration: 31 min
    • The economic analysis of voting behavior and its societal impacts.

24. The Pursuit of Happiness
    • Duration: 34 min
    • Measuring happiness as an economic outcome and its implications for decision-making.