The Economics of Scarcity and the UNC-Duke Basketball Game (with Michael Munger)
About this episode
Russ Roberts and Michael Munger discuss the economics of scarcity through the lens of the Duke-UNC basketball rivalry.
Duke University leaves millions of dollars on the table every year by giving away free tickets to the most sought-after game in college basketball. The bizarre ticket allocation system includes weeks of camping in tents, a 58-question trivia exam, border guards with air horns at 3 AM, and a 50-page student-written constitution with its own appeals court. In this special 20th-anniversary episode, EconTalk's Russ Roberts and returning favorite Michael Munger (appearance #51!) use the legendary Duke-UNC rivalry to explore the fundamental economics question: how do you deal with a world when there isn't enough of something to go around? Along the way, they ask why a university that squeezes students on every other margin, might deliberately forgo a fortune on ticket sales. The answer has everything to do with community, belonging, and the same psychology that bonds fighter pilots and elite military units.
People in this episode
Host: Russ Roberts
Guest: Michael Munger
Topics covered
- economics
- scarcity
- college basketball
- community
- psychology
- rivalry
Keywords
- scarcity
- Duke University
- UNC
- basketball tickets
- economics
- community
- psychology
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Duke University, UNC
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