Season 7 Episode 4: Cersei invades Highgarden, coming into possession of much gold and with it she pays off the kingdom’s debts to the Iron Bank of Bravos. The Iron Bank had become fond of the interest payments the kingdom’s debts were building up and by paying off the debt the interest payments ended. This …
Season 5 Episode 8: Olly, a victim of violence from the Wildlings, asks Samuel Tarly why Jon Snow intends to help people who have been the Night’s Watch enemies for years. Samuel explains that in order to fend off against the White Walkers, Jon must have the strength of the Wilding army on his side …
Season 1 Episode 3: There is a discussion on inefficient government spending (for the hand’s tournament). Government spending should almost always be more inefficient than private sector spending because governments don’t face the same constraint consumers do when spending on items that give the highest marginal utility per dollar.
Season 1 Episode 1: Eddard is offered the role of Hand of the King. While not a monetary incentive, it’s a prestigious position but requires a lot of time commitment. He’s already a Lord at Winterfell, a great life with much more leisure time than if he took the new role, but the incentive to …
Season 5, Episode 5: Samuel Tarly was able to kill a white walker using dragon glass, but neither he nor Stannis Baratheon know why. Sam is reading to try to figure out more. Here is a case where research and development could yield results that help society. This is similar to what companies and governments …
Season 3, Episode 8: A soldier is happier to see Lady Brienne die fighting a bear with a wooden sword than to receive a big ransom. By doing so, he is paying an opportunity cost for entertainment
Season 2, Episode 10: Daenerys and Jorah intend to use a gold chalice as currency – a medium of exchange – to purchase a ship for crossing the Narrow Sea into Westeros. Throughout history, gold and other precious metals have served as currency for many empires.
Season 1, Episode 7: The newest members of the Night’s Watch are assigned to particular roles. We can see Lord Snow is visibly upset by where he was sorted. Because this is not a market mechanism, where individuals choose their jobs based on pay, working conditions, etc. and employers choose their workers based on productivity, …
Season 2, Episode 4: Craster of Craster’s Keep has a monopoly on food and warmth beyond the wall, and uses that to extract a large payment (ignoring his horrible behavior) from the rangers/night’s watch who need a place to rest.
Season 6, Episode 4: Tyrion Lannister explains to Grey Worm that he does not blindly trust their opponents and states “I don’t trust the men, I trust their self-interest.” This relates directly to the thinking of famed economist Adam Smith and his writing on self-interest and the foundations of markets in The Wealth of Nations.