Linda Ghent
Linda S. Ghent is a Professor and Chair in the Department of Economics at Eastern Illinois University. She has been teaching economics for over 15 years and has been using popular culture in her classes more and more over time. In 2007, she developed a course called “Pop Culture Economics” that is taught as a Senior Seminar for non-economics majors. Many of the Seinfeld clips here are used in this course.
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Latest Videos
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Seinfeld: The Alternate Side
Posted: September 13, 2012 by Ghent with 0 commentsJerry's car is stolen, so he rents a car. The rental company doesn't give him the car he reserved; he gets a small economy car. They ask if he wants insurance, and he replies, “Yes, because I'm going to beat the hell out of this car.” Read more…
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Seinfeld: The Nose Job
Posted: September 13, 2012 by Ghent with 0 commentsJerry fights an inner war over a woman he hates, but who gives him great sex. In an attempt to break himself of her, Jerry has Kramer tear up her phone number. Read more…
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Seinfeld: The Non-Fat Yogurt
Posted: September 13, 2012 by Ghent with 0 commentsKramer has invested in a fat-free yogurt shop, but Jerry and Elaine begin to gain weight after indulging in it. Read more…
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Seinfeld: The Muffin Tops (Intellectual Property Rights)
Posted: September 13, 2012 by Ghent with 0 commentsElaine comes up with the idea of selling only the top parts of muffins; within days her old boss has opened a muffin-top store, capitalizing on her idea. Elaine needs protection for her idea, which is the role of the patent/trademark system. Read more…
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Seinfeld: The Muffin Tops (Stumps)
Posted: September 13, 2012 by Ghent with 0 commentsElaine and her old boss find that selling just the tops of muffins is more profitable than selling the whole muffin (which consists of the top + the stump). So are the top and the stump complements or substitutes? Neither--the stumps are an economic bad, which reduce utility. Evidence for this is found in the fact that homeless people won't eat the stumps that the muffin-top restaurant throws away, unless they come with the tops as compensation. Read more…
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Seinfeld: The Marine Biologist (Banking Regulation)
Posted: September 13, 2012 by Ghent with 0 commentsKramer gives Elaine an organizer that he got at the bank when he opened a new account; Jerry proudly shows off a tape recorder that he got at a different bank. In the days before bank deregulation, interest rates were administered: 0% on checking accounts, 5.25% on savings accounts. With market interest rates higher than these, there was no way for banks to compete for funds except to offer additional perks like toasters, tape recorders, and organizers. Read more…
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Seinfeld: The Barber (George's Job)
Posted: September 13, 2012 by Ghent with 0 commentsGeorge thinks he has been offered a job, but the man offering it to him got interrupted in the middle of the offer, and will be on vacation for the next week. George, unsure whether an offer has actually been extended, decides that his best strategy is to show up. If the job was indeed his, this is the right move. But even if the job is not, he believes that the benefits outweigh the costs. Read more…
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Seinfeld: The Baby Shower
Posted: September 13, 2012 by Ghent with 0 commentsJerry does a cost -benefit analysis of installing illegal cable. He decides to commit the crime when he finds out there will be 75 televised Mets games on TV. Read more…
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Seinfeld: The Apartment (Rent Control)
Posted: September 13, 2012 by Ghent with 0 commentsJerry lives in a rent controlled building. The only time an apartment opens up is when Mrs. Hudwalker dies, because rent controls create immobility. Elaine and Jerry find out about the opening, and because Elaine happens to be first in line, she gets it for $400 per month. Subsequently, Jerry gets worried about having Elaine living so close, and tells Elaine that she can't have the apartment--the super was offered a $5,000 bribe. Read more…
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Seinfeld: The Apartment (Wedding Ring)
Posted: September 13, 2012 by Ghent with 0 commentsGeorge discovers that when he wears a wedding band, women come on to him. The band signals 1) that you are not gay, and 2) that you are of marriageable quality. A girl discusses the signal with George; she uses the ring as a screening device. Read more…
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Seinfeld: The Andrea Doria
Posted: September 13, 2012 by Ghent with 0 commentsJerry helps Newman deliver eight bags of mail he has stored in Jerry's storage unit to help Newman get a promotion that would move him to Hawaii. Jerry wants Newman out of his life and is willing to work (and join forces with Newman) to make it happen. Read more…
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Stossel: Pharmaceutical Price Controls
Posted: August 31, 2012 by Ghent with 0 commentsJohn Stossel examines the pharmaceutical industry. Are prices too high? Do proces reflect the level of research & development in the industry? Read more…
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House, MD: Role Model
04:48Posted: August 31, 2012 by Ghent with 0 commentsHouse is pushed to promote a new drug by the hospital's current chief administrator, Vogler. Of course, House has other plans, The clip shows House discussing the profits made by Vogler's pharmaceutical company and also discusses the creation of new drugs that may or may not be any better then current drugs. Read more…
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Scrubs: My Two Dads
06:16Posted: August 31, 2012 by Ghent with 0 commentsIn this clip, JD hears two conflicting accounts of what a hospital's goals should be. Is a hospital there to serve as many as possible regardless of ability to pay? Or is the hospital a business that needs to be concerned about its bottom line. Read more…
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Desperate Business
21:44Posted: August 31, 2012 by Ghent with 0 commentsWhen shortages exist, black markets are often created to deal with them. This film is a documentary showing the black market for kidneys. Poor individuals are selling kidneys in order to feed their families in developing countries. Read more…
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Boston Legal: Can't We All Get a Lung?
10:56Posted: August 31, 2012 by Ghent with 0 commentsThis clip demonstrates a black market transaction in the market for organs. Daniel Post is arrested for paying for the college education of a man who will plans to donate a lung to him. The man is dying of an inoperable brain tumor. Read more…
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Stossel's "Unintended Consequences"
05:53Posted: August 31, 2012 by Ghent with 0 commentsGovernment policies can alter behavior in unexpected ways. John Stossel shares some stories where this is the case. Read more…
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Friends (The One Where Joey Loses His Insurance)
04:23Posted: August 31, 2012 by Ghent with 0 commentsJoey loses his health insurance coverage. Unfortunately from him, he develops a hernia while exercising. The clip shows the trouble he goes through waiting to get his problem fixed while he tries to get his insurance reinstated. Read more…
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Who Plays God? (Being Uninsured)
18:37Posted: August 31, 2012 by Ghent with 0 commentsThis is a clip from "Who Plays God?" that focuses on those without insurance in the U.S. One of the families interviewed find themselves too wealthy to be eligible for Medicaid, but too poor to afford health insurance because it is not available through an employer. While the focus may seem to be on equity and fairness, students must also consider the inefficiencies that exist when a considerable portion of the population is without health insurance. Read more…
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Malpractice and the Measure of Human Suffering
21:36Posted: August 31, 2012 by Ghent with 0 commentsA doctor has been found negligent in the death of his patient. Now a jury must decide what the award should be. How do you put a price tag on another person's life? Read more…
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Grey's Anatomy: No Man's Land
02:50Posted: August 31, 2012 by Ghent with 0 commentsA patient has an accident with a nail gun, taking a nail to the head. Although treated successfully, the doctors find a brain tumor. The patient's decision: try to prolong his life by surgery but risk losing his memories and part of his personality. Read more…
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Everwood: Pilot
02:08Posted: August 31, 2012 by Ghent with 0 commentsDr. Andrew Brown is a world-famous neurosurgeon. After his wife dies suddenly, Dr. Brown's views on medicine and what matters in life change dramatically. As a result, he changes the way he practices medicine, focusing on quality of life as well as quantity. Read more…
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Who Plays God? (Neonatal Intensive Care)
22:35Posted: August 31, 2012 by Ghent with 0 commentsThis clip examines the use of resources to save early-term newborns with very low birth weights. The benefits and cost of using the technology are discussed. Read more…
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Scrubs: My Last Day
03:11Posted: August 31, 2012 by Ghent with 0 commentsThe doctors want to arrange a surgery for a patient without health insurance and need to find a way to convince the Chief of Staff that doing so would actually be best for the hospital's bottom line. Read more…
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Grey's Anatomy: Into You Like a Train
03:15Posted: August 31, 2012 by Ghent with 0 commentsA train wreck has left two passengers connected by a long steel pole. The doctors must make a choice about which patient to save. Choice and how decisions are made lie at the heart of economics. Read more…
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Sick in America (Part V)
Posted: August 31, 2012 by Ghent with 0 commentsThis final segment of "Sick in America" examines the impact of competition in health care markets. Several examples of successful competition are shown. Stossel then uses this as an argument that, rather than a single-payer system, what the U.S. needs is less government involvement and more competition in health care. Read more…
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Sick in America (Part IV)
Posted: August 31, 2012 by Ghent with 0 commentsPart IV of Sick in America highlights an innovative health insurance benefit plan provided to employees at Whole Foods. Employees receive a health savings account and must determine how to best spend their funds. This results in shopping around and direct price comparison on the part of employees. Read more…
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Sick in America (Part III)
Posted: August 31, 2012 by Ghent with 0 commentsThis clip includes a discussion with director Michael Moore about his movie "Sicko." Stossel and Moore debate several claims that Moore made in his movie. This clip also includes a discussion about private insurance, which can be compared to the insurance system in Germany described in "Sick Around the World." Read more…
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Sick in America (Part II)
Posted: August 31, 2012 by Ghent with 0 commentsThis is a clip from Stossel's "Sick in America" which argues that a single-payer system is not the most effcient nor effective way to run a health care system. This should be compared with the clips from "Sick Around the World." Read more…
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Sick in America (Part I)
Posted: August 31, 2012 by Ghent with 0 commentsSick in America provides an argument for more competition in health care, and argues that a single-payer system doesn't work well. This video clip is in direct conflict with the Sick Around the World clips. Read more…
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Sick Around the World (Switzerland)
Posted: August 31, 2012 by Ghent with 0 commentsThis clip describes the universal health care system in Switzerland, a country known for its capitalism. Comparisons to the U.S. are drawn throughout. Read more…
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Sick Around the World (Taiwan)
Posted: August 31, 2012 by Ghent with 0 commentsThis video describes the universal health care system in Taiwan and draws comparisons to the U.S. health care system. Read more…
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Sick Around the World (Germany)
Posted: August 31, 2012 by Ghent with 0 commentsThis is a discussion about the Sickness Funds system in Germany. Comparison between Germany's health care system is made with that of the U.S. Read more…
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Sick Around the World (Japan)
Posted: August 31, 2012 by Ghent with 0 commentsThis is a discussion about the health care system in Japan. Comparisons between Japan and the U.S. are drawn. Read more…
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Sick Around the World (United Kingdom)
Posted: August 31, 2012 by Ghent with 0 commentsThis is a clip that describes the National Health Service in the United Kingdom. Viewers will be able to draw comparisons between the UK system and the US system. Read more…
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House: Maternity
03:50Posted: August 31, 2012 by Ghent with 0 commentsA number of newborn babies acquire unknown diseases simultaneously. House and his aides must race against the clock to save them and avoid further spread of the disease. Read more…
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Who Plays God? (Organ Transplants)
26:36Posted: August 31, 2012 by Ghent with 0 commentsThis is a discussion of organ transplants and the shortage that exists. Understanding the scarcity of resources (including organs) is key to understanding health economics. Read more…
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Seinfeld: The Glasses (Night/Day Guy)
Posted: August 31, 2012 by Ghent with 0 commentsIn his opening comedy sketch, Jerry laments that his "Night Guy" always wants to stay up late, but then "Morning Guy" must bear the cost of not getting enough sleep. This is a great example of the dual-self problem discussed in behavioral economics. Read more…
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Seinfeld: The Stand-In
Posted: August 31, 2012 by Ghent with 0 commentsKramer and Mickey are playing Rock, paper, Scissors. Kramer plays "paper" while Mickey plays "rock". Mickey tells Kramer he wins because "nothing beats rock". The rest of the rounds are then a draw because Kramer and Mickey both only play "rock." Read more…
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Seinfeld: The Susie
Posted: August 31, 2012 by Ghent with 0 commentsGeorge discovers that his current girlfriend, Alison, wants to break up with him. He goes to amazing lengths to avoid her, not leaving his house and screening his phone calls, reasoning that, "If she can't find me, she can't break up with me." Read more…
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