The summer is a great time to catch up on movies, especially ones about economics! Matt and Jadrian share two of their favorite movies. It’s only after they’ve shared their favorites that they realize just how similar the storylines are even though the topics are very different! They also highlight some of the top movies recommended by economics educators. Through this conversation, it seems Matt and Jadrian have unlocked the magic of moviemaking for economics.
In this episode, we discuss:
Our morning drinks of choice (spoiler, Matt’s is pretty dull)
Why Jadrian loves Moneyball and Matt likes The Big Short
The top movies with economics as ranked by economists.
And a whole lot more!
Catch up on old episodes:
You can also listen to us on Google Podcasts, TuneIn Radio, and Apple Podcasts. If one of these is your go-to podcast service, be sure to rate us and subscribe!
Some show notes:
This was the first time Matt and Jadrian were recording in the morning, due to their travel schedules. Matt, therefore, was sticking with a Diet Coke. Jadrian was more adventurous, enjoying an coffee and bourbon cream that is from Buffalo Trace Distilleries.
Jadrian highlighted Moneyball as one of his favorite movies. There are several economics themes to highlight, including discrimination, expected value, and it’s got a rare concept for pop culture - constrained optimization!
Matt discussed The Big Short. Jadrian hadn’t seen it, but quickly noted some similarities in theme, and in original author, Michael Lewis.
Matt notes he loves how this discusses the impact of the Great Recession and the housing bust. It also does a reasonable job explaining what’s meant by “shorting” a financial asset. But he doesn’t like how it seems to imply the bubble was completely predictable and gives an impression that the market is easily “beatable”.
We also discussed the 2016 paper by Mateer, O’Roark, and Holder that surveyed economists to come up with a list of the top ten economics movies. Note - if anyone has good examples for how to use Toy Story to teach, we would appreciate it!
This week’s pop culture references:
Jadrian discussed a great Ally Bank commercial with Thomas Sargent, who stated he couldn’t predict interest rate movements.
Matt attempted to give a repeat clip, until Jadrian caught him! Then chose a Star Wars clip that illustrates trade offs and opportunity costs.
Share this post