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These are the best new articles, videos, podcasts, and other resources we have found to teach costs of production. They bring economics to life by showing students real-life examples and current events.
 

News Articles

(Listed from most recent to oldest)

Stores don’t sell your favorite product anymore. That’s on purpose | CNN Business (Nov. 8, 2024)
Offering endless variety is expensive. Stores are cutting back and emphasizing their core offerings.

America’s french fry king sounds an alarm | CNN Business (Oct. 8, 2024)
A downward shift in restaurant demand, has fry manufacturer Lamb Weston evaluating its shutdown conditions. The decrease in fry demand has prompted the manufacturer to announce a plant closing and a round of layoffs impacting almost 400 employees.

Volkswagen's labour clash spotlights Europe's car factory conundrum | Reuters (Sept. 25, 2024)
Higher labor costs and commitments to build EVs closer to home have auto factories in Western Europe idling with extra capacity compared to their counterparts in Eastern Europe.

Lego plans to ditch oil in its bricks for pricier renewable plastic as profits surge | CNN Business (Aug. 29, 2024)
Lego announced a plan to purchase more renewable resin for its famous blocks, but the resin costs 2-3x that of fossil based plastic. Part of the reason why is that the recycled and renewable plastics industry competes with subsidized biodiesel for inputs.

Trying to beat the heat? Here's what's driving up the cost of your ice cream cone | WCPO Cincinnati (June 14, 2024)
The producer price index for ice cream is increasing along with summer temperatures.

Laid-off: Former Tyson Foods chicken farmers face high costs switching to eggs | Reuters (April 30, 2024)
It’s not so easy to switch between raising chickens and raising chicken eggs.

You think a pound of beef is expensive? Wait until you hear what it costs to produce it in Colorado. | Colorado Sun (Dec. 19, 2023)
Ranchers in Colorado are losing money on every cow they raise. Here’s a breakdown of the costs of raising beef in Colorado.

Why Does Organic Milk Cost So Much? | Epicurious (January 13, 2023)
Wondering why organic milk costs two times more than regular milk? Here’s a nice walkthrough comparing the costs of production for both milk types.

Why Costco and Trader Joe’s stopped selling your favorite food? | CNN Business (November 5, 2022)
Have you been disappointed that a favorite item at Costco or Trader Joe’s has been discontinued? Why? The costs of producing and handling products, competition, and stability of product supply all play a role.

Tesla has reduced the cost of manufacturing its cars by 57% since 2017 | Tesmanian (September 13, 2022)
Tesla’s production costs have declined while the quality of its cars has significantly improved. What factors contributed to this success and helped the company get ahead of all carmakers in the market?
Resource: Worksheet
 

Videos

The Economics of Pumpkin Patches | Hustlenomics (3:41 min.)
The U.S. produces billions of pounds of pumpkins every year, but most pumpkin patches are open from mid-September to mid-November. What do they do the rest of the year? What costs do they pay? How do they cover them? The video could be used for discussions of costs of production, profit, and elasticity.

How A 100-Year-Old Vermont Creamery Makes Cheddar Cheese | Food Insider
Let’s face it, production costs can be… shall we say dry? Cheese, on the other hand, is delicious. As students watch the video, have them write down as many inputs as they can. Then use this example to talk about the difference between fixed and variable factors of production.

I Love Lucy’s Chocolate Factory Scene | YouTube
A fun way to introduce the class on costs of production by asking your students how the cost of producing one (wrapped) chocolate candy increased as the speed of the machine did as well.

The Price of Coke Stayed the Same for 70 Years | Planet Money
The name of the video says it all, but listen to find out why the answer is in part due to Coca Cola’s costs.

Podcasts

For this Maine chocolatier, labor is the “No. 1 cost to stay competitive” | Marketplace (3:01)
With the inflation rate being 9.1%, businesses face higher input prices. What do you think is the “number 1” cost for Dean’s Sweets, a chocolate business in Portland, Maine?

Grinch Bots and Shipping Costs | The Indicator
Learn about shipping costs and the scalpers enabled by Grinch bots.

The Starbury | Planet Money Episode 785
He wasn’t able to afford fancy Air Jordans as a kid, so professional basketball player Stephon Marbury set out to make a high-quality basketball shoe on the cheap. Kenny Malone gets into the brass tacks and costs of producing such a shoe.
Resource: Worksheet

Adding Up the Price of a T-shirt | Planet Money Episode 503
Planet Money reporters travel the world over tracking the cost to produce one ordinary t-shirt. And it’s extraordinary.

Additional Resources

Multiple-Choice Questions | MRU

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