The Economics of The Office
Learning economics from the world's best boss
Arbitrage
In this example Dwight exploits an arbitrage opportunity. He buys a good at a low price and then sells it at a much higher price. We think in efficient markets consumers or firms will look to exploit these opportunities until they no longer exist.
Season 4 Episode 16 "Did I Stutter?"
Information and Market Efficiency (G14) Microeconomic Behavior: Underlying Principles (D01)
Dunder Mifflin Infinity
In this clip (from deleted scenes) we can demonstrate a good example of structural unemployment. Due to an advance in technology the skills of the Dunder Mifflin accountants will no longer be needed. Obviously from here students may want to discuss cyclical and frictional unemployment (which can be demonstrated when Michael foolishly quits his job with no real plan for his job search in season five).
Season 4 Episode 3 "Dunder Mifflin Infinity"
Technological Change (O30) Unemployment (J60)
Babysitter
In this clip, Jim and Pam discuss how difficult it is to find a good babysitter for their kids. They are only willing to hire a babysitter with highly specialized skills. Therefore, they should be expected to pay a premium price for a sitter. It's not that there is a shortage of available babysitters as much as there is a shortage of sitter who have demonstrated the skill set they think is required.
Season 4 Episode 3 "Andy's Play"
Information and Market Efficiency (G14) Microeconomic Behavior: Underlying Principles (D01)
Flowers
In this clip, Michael tries to buy flowers only to discover how expensive they are. This is a good example of the relationship between price elasticity of demand and the availability of substitute goods. Also we see that when the price of a good is above someone's reservation price, they will either go without the good or purchase a substitute good.
Season 4 Episode 3 "Andy's Play"
Microeconomic Behavior: Underlying Principles (D01) Market Structure and Pricing (D40)
Jacket
Kevin buys a jacket. Students should be able to demonstrate that putting Kevin's name on the jacket shifted his demand curve for this good to the right.
Season 4 Episode 3 "Andy's Play"
Microeconomic Behavior: Underlying Principles (D01)
The Proposal
Jim pays for fireworks at Toby's farewell party so that he can propose to Pam. Doing so creates a positive externality for everyone at the party. Fireworks are a common example of a public good, because they are both non-rival and non-excludable. This makes it easy for individuals to free ride, utilizing the public good without contributing to its production. Jim learns this first hand when Andy makes the most of the romantic atmosphere.
Season 4 Episode 19 "Goodbye, Toby"
Externalities (D62) Microeconomic Behavior: Underlying Principles (D01)
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)
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)