Monopoly
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.
Adam Smith and Markets
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.
Production Possibilities Frontier
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 …
Tipping
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.
Tyiron and Bronn Discuss Licensing
Season 3, Episode 1: Bronn and Tyrion are discussing how much Bronn should be paid to continue defending Tyrion. Bronn claims he is worth more on the market because he’s been knighted. He likely isn’t more productive but this credential has value, in part because the opportunity cost of his time is likely higher.
Tyiron Explains Specialization
Season 1, Episode 2: Tyrion explains that he learned to specialize in being intelligent – by reading a lot, while his brother could specialize in fighting. This is a good example of comparative advantage and specialization.
The Wall is a Public Good
Season 1, Episode 3: The Night’s Watch is a public good. They protect the Seven Kingdoms from white walkers and wildlings. But like most public goods, the Night’s Watch is underfunded – which is a market failure. In this clip, we see Aemon appealing to Lord Tyrion to help convince the King and Queen for …