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 To teach this concept in the classroom, click here for a lesson plan
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. To teach this concept in the classroom, click here for a …
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.
Season 5, Episode 8: Arya tells story of how she would reinvest her daily profits, first for a second bucket to bring to the market, then for a cart. This allowed Arya to bring more goods to the market and make great profits. Standard economic models show that with an increase in capital – which …
Season 5, Episode 9: Arya is an oyster saleswoman and for her good service receives the initial amount of money for the oyster plus a tip. Tipping is an economic phenomena that happens in many economies today and is seen as an incentive system for good service.
Season 5, Episode 4: The Iron Bank of Braavos recalls 1/10 of the crown’s debts, but the kingdom can only afford to pay back half of that amount. Initially, Mace Tyrell offers to front the money, expecting the crown to pay it back later, but Cersei says no and seeks to renegotiate the terms of …
Season 2, Episode 3: Theon argues for cooperation and gains from trade, his father argues for seizing land and not doing anything productive. This is a good example of how wealth was gained throughout history vs. how wealth is primarily gained now. Most of the rich people in the world now gain their wealth through …
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