Economic Lessons from Taylor Swift Lyrics
The lyrics from Taylor Swift teach about tradeoffs, risk analysis, and more
If you’ve ever sung along with Shake It Off or august, you’ve experienced more than just catchy pop music—you’ve encountered economic ideas. Taylor Swift’s storytelling is filled with decisions, tradeoffs, risks, and unexpected lessons that mirror the way economists think about the world.
I recently co-authored a scholarly paper with Sarah King, Signe Thomas, and Jadrian Wooten on economic lessons in Taylor Swift song lyrics and how educators can use them to teach. It is forthcoming in the Journal of Economics Teaching. Why did we think this was important? Rather than only relying on graphs or theoretical models, using song lyrics, especially from the world’s top pop star, can help students better understand economic lessons.
In this post, we are sharing some with a wider audience how three songs—august, Superman, and Blank Space—unpack core economic concepts like opportunity cost, labor economics, and risk analysis.
We hope you’ll agree.
This is the first of two posts that
, my podcast co-host and Monday Morning Economist author, worked on together. Both will be posted here (stay tuned for part 2) but if you’re not already subscribed to Jadrian’s newsletter, check it out!Lesson 1: Opportunity Cost & Tradeoffs – “august”
Every choice involves giving up something else—and what you give up is the opportunity cost. Time, in particular, is a scarce resource. In august, Swift captures the fleeting nature of time and how every moment spent with one person means sacrificing something else:
"August slipped away into a moment in time..."
This lyric is a perfect starting point to discuss how we allocate our time. Every hour of a summer romance comes at the cost of other activities or relationships. Economists call this the “next-best alternative”—the thing you gave up when you made a choice.
Try this thought experiment: What’s the opportunity cost of your time reading this post? Maybe you could have been watching TikToks or starting your own side hustle. But if this post is worth your time, that means the benefit of reading exceeds those forgone alternatives—at least for you.
Lesson 2: Labor Economics – “Superman”
Swift’s Superman gives us a surprisingly fun look at labor and employment. She sings:
"He puts papers in his briefcase and drives away / To save the world or go to work..."
Economists could spend an entire class on this one line. Is this person in a traditional labor force role—or is “saving the world” a metaphor for something unpaid but valuable? This opens up discussions about what counts as “work” in economic terms. This person could be employed, unemployed, or not in the labor force.
We also see the concept of compensating wage differentials. Some jobs are dangerous or stressful and need higher pay to attract workers. But some jobs, if people find personal fulfillment (“saving the world”), they may accept lower wages. Swift’s lyric reflects how the non-monetary aspects of work can affect our choices just as much as money does.
Lesson 3: Risk & Expected Value – “Blank Space”
“Blank Space” might be the most economically rich song in Swift’s catalog. Consider this lyric:
"So it's gonna be forever / Or it's gonna go down in flames..."
This is decision-making under uncertainty. The outcome of a relationship is unknown, so Swift is weighing the possible payoffs: a lifelong love or a painful breakup. Economists would frame this in terms of expected value—the average payoff, factoring in both the probability and value of each outcome.
The song also touches on risk aversion. Even if the expected value of dating is positive (because “forever” would be amazing), some people might avoid relationships altogether to avoid heartbreak. Not Swift. She’s willing to roll the dice—an economist might even call her risk-loving.
Stay tuned!
Soon we will post part 2 on how Swift helps us understand human psychology and biases through Shake It Off and We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.
 | A guest post by
|