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These are the best new articles, videos, podcasts, and other resources we have found to teach Externalities, public goods, and market failure. They bring economics to life by showing students real-life examples and current events.
 

News Articles

(Listed from most recent to oldest)

How living in Delhi is like smoking 20 cigarettes a day as smog engulfs city | inews UK (Nov. 20, 2024)
Delhi and surrounding areas are experiencing debilitating levels of smog, viewable even from outer space (link in article)! Contributing to the high levels of particulate matter are illegal agricultural fires, but a comprehensive long-term plan to address the seasonal pollution problem remains elusive.

MTA board overwhelmingly passes revised congestion pricing plan | NBC New York (Nov. 18, 2024)
A Pigouvian tax on driving into Manhattan south of 60th street is once again on the horizon. The MTA board recently approved Governor Hochul’s modified $9/day congestion tax, with officials rushing to finalize the program in time to implement Jan. 5, 2025.

Illegal mines, pollution and a thirsty global market: Anger mounts over Ghana's gold problem | NBC News (Oct. 20, 2024)
Mercury and other heavy metals from small, illegal gold mine operations have contaminated an estimated 60% of Ghana’s water.

California bans all plastic shopping bags at store checkouts: When will it go into effect? | USA Today (Sept. 23, 2024)
California enacted a plastic bag ban in 2014, but the law allowed thicker recyclable bags to be sold that were never recycled. Estimates of discarded plastic waste per person increased from 8 lbs in 2004  to approximately 11 lbs in 2021. Now California is banning all plastic bags at checkout to try to fix the loophole, but it isn't a surefire fix. New Jersey's plastic waste tripled after enacting a plastic bag ban in 2022.

Rome considering limiting tourist access to Trevi Fountain | Reuters (Sept. 5, 2024)
Overcrowding at the Trevi fountain has Rome considering timed and ticketed entry to the famous landmark, turning the common resource into a club good.

Gassy cows and pigs will face a carbon tax in Denmark, a world first | AP News (June 26, 2024)
Denmark is the first country to implement a Pigouvian tax on cow and pig emitted methane. The initial tax will cost approximately $100 per cow.

Venice access fee: what is it and how much does it cost? The Guardian (April 24, 2024)
Venice is tackling its tragedy of the commons problem by instituting an access fee to visit the city.

The myth of your phone's airplane mode | Quartz (Feb. 26, 2024)
Airplane mode is all about noise externalities, not navigation issues.

Botanical gardens ‘most effective’ green space at cooling streets in heatwaves | The Guardian (Feb. 23, 2024)
Botanic gardens can reduce the temperature of surrounding areas by 5 C.

We’re stuck between rock salt and a hard place | Morning Brew (Nov. 21, 2023)
Cities and state agencies spend approximately $2.3 billion to salt roads in an effort to keep cities moving in the winter. In the northeast, one snow day can cost $2.6 billion in lost wages and $870 in retail sales. But salt corrosion creates $5 billion in damages annually and can interfere with fresh water supplies.

The Indian Challenge to Blockchains: Digital Public Goods | Marginal Revolution (Nov. 20, 2023)
Can blockchain for Uber serve as a modern public good?

Norfolk Southern announces details of plan to pay for lost home values because of Ohio derailment | AP News (Sept. 18, 2023)
Can a Coasian solution to an externalities problem help East Palestine recover from a railroad derailment that released toxic chemicals in the area?

Bottle battle: Boston talks of banning tiny bottles of booze | AP News (April 6, 2023)
Tiny liquor bottles offer high-profit margins to liquor stores, cheap access to liquor, and frequently end up as litter. It’s an externalities problem that Boston City Council member Arroyo wants to solve by banning the tiny bottles.

Up in smoke: Cities grapple with run on wood-burning stoves | POLITICO (Feb. 15, 2023)
Rising energy costs have prompted many city-dwellers in London and other European cities to switch to wood-burning stoves, contributing to air pollution and worse health outcomes. It’s a classic case of a negative externalities problem.

But who will build the roads? 19th century edition | Economist writing every day (November 9, 2022)
Are government-funded roads a public good? (Hint: are they rivalrous?) A new study of roads in Britain looks at turnpike trusts and the private provision of roads.

The fight to build more public bathrooms in America | The Hustle (November 4, 2022)
Why aren’t there enough public bathrooms in cities?

People may become less likely to contribute to a virtual public good like Waze if they know many others are already doing it | The Conversation (February 1, 2021)
Interesting new research about digital public goods: the free rider problem may counterintuitively get worse if lots of other people are already contributing to the public good.

The Punishing Signal | Ad Age (May 11, 2021)
Sometimes externalities problems call for creative solutions. Mumbai tested a new method to punish excessive honking by connecting decibel readers to traffic light timers, making drivers wait longer when their section of the road exceeded 85 db. It reduced noise by 32% and required less manpower than handing out tickets.

Graphics

Lead exposure during childhood has long-lasting effects | The Economist
The graph in this article shows that lead exposure could even affect social development.

Videos

A tax to curb meat’s problems | FT Food Revolution
Pigouvian taxes can seem appealing but can be difficult to implement in practice. Invite a class discussion on the merits of a meat tax with this video. Did you know? Teachers can get free access to the Financial Times by registering here.

The Economics of COVID-19 | MRU
This video (and resource) examines the positive externalities of vaccine usage and development. You can also use this video and resource to review incentives.
Resource: Assignment

Coase Theorem | MRU
Did you know that bees get trucked all over the country to pollinate crops? Introduce students to the Coase Theorem and show them that under a specific set of circumstances, private markets can overcome externality problems without government intervention.
Resource: Worksheet

How to Motivate Expert Contributions | MRU
Check out our Economists in the Wild series and learn about cutting-edge research on non-traditional ways to encourage the production of public goods, like Wikipedia.

The Hidden Cost of Pollution | MRU
Alex Tabarrok posts about the literature on the dangers of air pollution of life expectancy and quality of life. The most shocking research summarized is that there is a large amount of air pollution at toll booths and that implementing EZ pass reduced air pollution enough to reduce the number of premature and low birth weight babies in the nearby vicinity. Stunning. MR article version is here.

Public Goods and Asteroid Defense | MRU
Did you know that the risk of dying from a stray asteroid is the same as dying in a plane crash? Although it is not very likely that a big asteroid would hit the Earth, the effect would be disastrous if it does. Everyone on the planet could benefit from asteroid protection. This video discusses asteroid protection which is a great example of a public good.

Tragedy of the Commons | Curb your Enthusiasm
Here’s an example we can all identify with—that time you wanted to eat more than your fair share of the caviar at a potluck.

Podcasts

SUMMER SCHOOL 4: Scarcity & Pistachios | NPR Planet
Money Understanding a tragedy of the commons problem with pistachios, water, and Elinor Ostrom. For more on Elinor Ostrom, check out our video: Women in Economics - Elinor Ostrom

The Pigou Club | NPR Planet Money
Gregory Mankiw founded a Pigou club, and you could be the latest member.  Along the way, you’ll learn about Arthur Cecil Pigou, London Fog, confusing graphs, as well as the advantages and difficulties of implementing a Pigouvian tax.

Saving California's Kelp Forest May Depend On Eating Purple Sea Urchins | NPR
You’ve heard about overfishing, but what about underfishing? One group thinks that markets can help solve the tragedy of the commons problem that is destroying California’s kelp forests.

Additional Resources

The Lighthouses of the UK | X
Here’s a great image for discussing Coase, lighthouses, and public goods.

Public Goods Multiple-Choice Questions | MRU

Externalities Multiple Choice Questions | MRU

Externality Games | Breakeven
Fun interactive that allows students to learn about externalities with a game. Free for small classes.

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