The Animal Control Department in Pawnee is pretty inept. Their role in the government serves a purpose, but they aren’t doing a very good job. It’s possible a private enterprise (like a pest control service) could be more effective, but its cheaper to staff a few employees to do the same work.
Thanks to an anonymous submitted for the clip!
See more: government, incentives, principle agent problem, private incentives, shirking, social incentives
Ron and Leslie get into a debate about people’s right to determine how they treat their own bodies. Leslie shows up to his dinner where Ron announces he’s eating a Turf’n’Turf and will consumer an entire cigar. Ron is a firm believe that people should be allowed to do what they want with their bodies and shouldn’t be controlled by the government.
Thanks to an anonymous submitter for the clip!
See more: choice architect, choices, free market, health economics, private benefits, social costs, tradeoffs
In a tight battle for City Council, Leslie approaches the President of the Pawnee Senior Citizens with a plan to place wheelchair ramps on every city building to make it easier for elderly citizens to get around. Bobby Newport announces a very similar plan, but instead of ramps, they propose adding chair lifts to each building. Both are pandering to the elderly vote with essentially the same program.
Thanks to an anonymous submitter for the clip!
See more: government programs, government spending, median voter theory, product differentiation, rent seeking
After Sweet-Ums tries stocking the local parks with their sugar-loaded protein bars, Leslie and Ann try holding a town forum to persuade citizens to vote against this decision. Ron isn’t happy with this directive because he is a firm believe in people having the right to consumer whatever they want and that the government should not interfere in that decision.
Thanks to an anonymous submitter for the clip!
See more: choice architect, choices, free market, government intervention, health economics, negative externalities, obesity, role of government
Leslie accepts a job with the National Parks Service in Chicago, but it means she has to leave her hometown of Pawnee, Indiana. She tries to recruit team members from the office, but no one is willing to go with her. She begins to realize all the things she’s going to miss when she leaves. Because time and resources are scarce, Leslie is forced to make choices.
See more: comparative advantage, migration, mobility, needs, opportunity costs, preferences, psychic costs, tradeoffs, wants
Tom’s Bistro’s soft opening didn’t go well, so he thinks it’s time to quit. Even though Ron recommends sticking it out, Tom is phased by the sunk cost fallacy; he loves quitting! April comes to the rescue and convinces him to at least try a full opening.
See more: behavioral, costs, entrepreneurship, firm decisions, production, sunk costs, variable costs
Craig has to keep it together in the face of very strange requests during his interview to be the sommelier for Tom’s Bistro. While professional sommelier’s are known for being able to pair wines and meals, they must maintain their composure when customers ask for something different. While some may have odd preferences, its important to respect others’ utility functions.
See more: behavioral, preferences, subjective value, utility, utility maximization
Leslie is a workaholic, so when the office starts to get sick she gets a bit nervous. When Andy starts showing symptoms of the flu, she realizes he may be contagious. Jerry has already been quarantined because of his symptoms.
See more: command and control, externalities, flu season, negative externalities, role of government, social costs
Ben and Tom aren’t happy with the high tent prices and add-ons at one tent rental shop, so they try to go to a competitor only to find that all of the tent rental places have the same owner who is happy to exploit his market power. While the owner tries to differentiate their product through branding, they have essentially monopolized central Indiana’s tent rental industry.
See more: branding, horizontal mergers, market power, market structures, marketing, monopolistic competition, monopoly, product differentiation
Leslie shares her opinion that a vendor at the farmers’ market has a crude display, and cites this as a reason to kick them out. Some citizens argue that government should not play an active role in dictating norms in society, but Leslie feels that’s the part of the government’s responsibility. This could be argued from a public choice perspective or as the role of government in correcting externalities.
See more: command and control, externalities, government regulation, negative externalities, normative statements, role of government, social costs
Economics of Parks & Recreation 