James Buchanan (1919 - 2013)

Economist James Buchanan has passed away.  Buchanan, along with Gordon Tullock, won the Nobel Prize for Economics in 1986 and is known for his work on public choice theory.

You can read his Nobel Prize lecture here.

I had several opportunities to hear Dr. Buchanan speak over the last few years. I was always struck by his brilliance and clarity of thought. I count myself among those fortunate enough to have come to know him and to learn from him.

Choice

It's early in the semester and many of us who are teaching principles or survey courses are either just into choice or only recently moved on. Here's a great article from today's edition of The Wall Street Journal that sets up a choice that is sure to promote discussion.

Read it through and share what you and/or your students came up with.

Self-interest vs. Social Interest

Courtesy of Wondermark.
http://wondermark.com/842/

Gains from Trade

Our natural propensity to "truck and barter" as Adam Smith would say:
http://www.gocomics.com/frankandernest/2012/04/30
(HT to Greg Mankiw)

Non-Price Determinants of Demand

This is not appropriate for use in high schools. However, those of you who teach at the college or university level may find this helpful.  Econgirl at EconomistsDoItWithModels has a great illustration of non-price determinants of demand with the help of "the most interesting man in the world."

Sometimes the Simplest Answers Are the Best

If you discuss the Chevy Volt with your students, you might want to use this. (HT to Carpe Diem.)

Abbot and Costello Explain Unemployment

Greg Mankiw posts a great piece from a colleague at the University of Chicago.

Generation Gap Alert: I just talked about this with my freshmen at one of the universities where I teach. None of them knew the Abbott & Costello routine "Who's on First?"  Consequently, you may want to skip this or show your students this clip first.