The Economics of The Office
Learning economics from the world's best boss
Cyclical Unemployment
Pam discusses her difficulty finding a job in a difficult economy.
Teaching of Economics (A20) Unemployment (J60)
Ungifting
This scene is about property rights and gift giving. Michael and Dwight try to prove that face to face sales work more effectively than new technologies and provide gift baskets for their clients. They decide to take the gifts back from a law firm when the firm does not elect to move their business to Dunder Mifflin. “Un-gifting” does not seem to be legal or appropriate but Michael and Dwight attempt to do this anyway. Michael exclaims “WHERE ARE THE TURTLES!” as he tries to get his gift back. (This clip was suggested by Jon Wilson, an undergraduate student at Kansas State University).
Season 4 Episode 2 "Dunder Mifflin Infinity"
Teaching of Economics (A20) Market Structure and Pricing (D40)
Conspicuous Consumption
Another example of conspicuous consumption (“$200 haircut”).
Season 4 Episode 2 "Dunder Mifflin Infinity"
Microeconomic Behavior: Underlying Principles (D01)
Michael Quits
Michaels quits his job with Dunder Mifflin. This example of frictional unemployment can be contrasted with examples of cyclic and structural unemployment that are shown later in the season. Thanks to Allison Anthony from the Maggie L. Walker Governor's School for suggesting this clip.
Season 5 Episode 20 "New Boss"
Teaching of Economics (A20) Unemployment (J60)
Dwight vs. Machine
In the episode "Launch Party" of The Office, Dwight challenges the website to see who can sell more paper. The competition begins with both parties selling paper in their respective ways. Dwight uses his traditional methods of salesmanship, such as making phone calls and visiting customers in person, while the website uses online marketing and social media to reach customers. As the competition progresses, the website gains an advantage by using modern technology to automate their sales process, while Dwight relies more on his personal labor and hard work to make sales. However, as the competition intensifies, Dwight also adopts a technological approach by setting up a website and using online tools to manage his sales. This competition between Dwight's labor and the website's technology highlights the concept of labor and technology as substitutes. As technology advances and becomes more efficient, it can replace human labor in certain tasks, as it did in this competition. However, the competition also shows that the human touch and personal interaction that Dwight provides can still be valuable to some customers. Overall, this clip can be used to illustrate how technological progress can lead to changes in the economy, and how workers need to adapt to these changes to stay competitive. It can also be used to discuss the benefits and drawbacks of substituting labor with technology, and how businesses need to balance these factors to succeed in the marketplace. This description was written by Chat-GPT based on a few prompts: https://economicsoftheoffice.com/static/uploads/chatgpt_transcript.pdf
Season 4 Episode 5 "Launch Party"
Labor Productivity (J24) Technological Change (O30)
