Economic Lessons from The Shawshank Redemption
This all-time classic provides lessons on prison markets and government corruption
The Shawshank Redeption is the highest rated movie of all time on IMDb. This 1994 classic showcases life in prison for Andy and Red along with all of the situations they find themselves in. It also showcases a number of economic themes which we examine in this video.
For the 2nd straight video, I’m pleased to be joined by Dirk Mateer to discuss economic lessons in the movies.
Prison Markets:
We start by examining how Red is an entrepreneur in prison and that prison creates it’s own set of markets. From the ability to buy things from the outside (at a markup) to the market for internal prison labor, we see how the market system still is existing within Shawshank’s walls.
Government Failures:
We also learn about government failures from this movie. The warden creates an economy system where prisoners can be hired, and is essentially controlling a bureaucracy. Because of this, however, we see the opportunity for corruption and for him to collect economic rents from other businesses.
About Dirk Mateer:
Dirk Mateer is a Professor of Instruction at the University of Texas at Austin. He is the author of Economics in the Movies, Essentials of Economics, and Principles of Economics. Dirk has been featured in the "Great Teachers in Economics" series and he was also the inaugural winner of the Economic Communicator Contest.