Using K-Pop to Teach Indifference Curve Analysis, Behavioral Economics and Game Theory

Abstract

Economic educators have been teaching with pop culture for decades, but until recently the focus was on English-based media. In this paper, we build on the work of Wooten al. (2021b), who showed how K-pop can be integrated into the principles-level curriculum. We develop three teaching guides that can be used to teach aspects of behavioral economics, game theory and indifference curve analysis – topics which are taught at the end of most principles-level courses but are also standalone upper level courses. The three artists chosen – BTS, BLACKPINK and TWICE – have huge global followings. We hope this paper will contribute to the library of diverse and inclusive teaching resources while helping to address the deficit of resources available to instructors of upper level courses.

Keywords: inclusive teaching, media, music, teaching economics, game theory, behavioral economics, indifference curves

JEL Classification: A20, A21