Rappin’ economics
October 28, 2009Jon Brooks 14 Comments »
At first blush, you might think that Principles of Economics, written by Harvard professor and former chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors Greg Mankiw, doesn’t necessarily seem like ripe material for a rap adaptation.
But if you did think that, you’d be wrong.
Listen to “Demand, Supply”, by Rhythm, Rhyme, Results. The rap song describes Mankiw’s 10 economic principles in a style somewhat reminiscent of Eminem — if Eminem rapped not about taking drugs, going mad, and hating women, but resource allocation, opportunity cost, and the money supply.
As in the book, topics in the song include government regulation:
Uncle Sam comes along and he’s gotta regulate
That’s lesson #7: when government’s there
They oversee to guarantee that competition is fair
the benefits of a free market:
Buyers and sellers clear markets without the man
The market system almost always prevails
But recognize, too, that markets can fail
and the relation of the money supply to inflation:
Printing too much paper sends prices sky high
A dollar means nothing, it’s just a nice name
If what it represents doesn’t stay the same
Rhythym, Rhyme, Results produces educational music for use in the classroom. From the FAQ:
The vocal delivery in rap/hip-hop music lends itself to rhyme-based mnemonics that make memorization easy. Beyond that, we realize that today’s youth listen to hip hop and rap in huge numbers that transcend race, culture, and age.
Sounds good. And we look forward to further economist/rap artist collaborations, and to that day when Jay-Z/Lawrence Summers, perhaps, can stand on a podium to accept their joint MTV Video Music Award/Nobel Economics Prize. And then Kanye West can rush up, grab the mic, and harangue the audience. “Yo Jay and Larry, I’m really happy for you, but Beyoncé/Ben Bernanke had one of the best videos/economic theories of all time!”
October 28th, 2009 at 3:22 pm
[...] Rappin’ economics [...]
December 29th, 2009 at 3:55 pm
[...] Rappin’ economics – rap song describes 10 economic principles in a style somewhat reminiscent of Eminem [...]
April 21st, 2010 at 11:37 am
[...] Rappin’ economics – Rap adaptation of the classic econ textbook “Principles of [...]
April 22nd, 2010 at 9:30 am
[...] Rappin’ economics – Rap adaptation of the classic econ textbook “Principles of [...]
April 23rd, 2010 at 11:46 am
[...] Rappin’ economics – Rap adaptation of the classic econ textbook “Principles of [...]
April 23rd, 2010 at 12:42 pm
[...] Rappin’ economics – Rap adaptation of the classic econ textbook “Principles of [...]
April 26th, 2010 at 10:46 am
[...] Rappin’ economics – Rap adaptation of the classic econ textbook “Principles of [...]
April 26th, 2010 at 11:33 am
[...] Rappin’ economics – Rap adaptation of the classic econ textbook “Principles of [...]
April 27th, 2010 at 12:07 pm
[...] Rappin’ economics – Rap adaptation of the classic econ textbook “Principles of [...]
April 28th, 2010 at 11:12 am
[...] Rappin’ economics – Rap adaptation of the classic econ textbook “Principles of [...]
April 28th, 2010 at 11:33 am
[...] Rappin’ economics – Rap adaptation of the classic econ textbook “Principles of [...]
April 29th, 2010 at 11:23 am
[...] Rappin’ economics – Rap adaptation of the classic econ textbook “Principles of [...]
April 29th, 2010 at 12:43 pm
[...] Rappin’ economics – Rap adaptation of the classic econ textbook “Principles of [...]
April 30th, 2010 at 3:05 am
[...] Rappin’ economics – Rap adaptation of the classic econ textbook “Principles of [...]