Publisher Description
Why do heroes fight each other? Why do villains keep trying even though they almost never win? Why don't heroes simply take over the world?
Economics and comic books seem to be a world apart. But in the hands of economics professor and comic hero aficionado J. Brian O'Roark, the two form a powerful alliance. With brilliant deadpan enthusiasm he shows how the travails of superheroes can explain the building blocks of economics, and how the laws of economics explain the mysteries of superhero behavior.
Superman has a day job because of elastic demand; Spiderman's existential doubts are all about opportunity cost; game theory sheds light on the battle between Captain America and Iron Man; the Peltzmann effect makes sense of why heroes can go to the bad; sunk cost fallacy explains The Flash's tragic dilemmas; the utility curve helps us decide who is the greatest superhero of all.
Why Superman Doesn't Take Over The World: What Superheroes Can Tell Us About Economics probes the motivations of our favorite heroes, and considers what it would look like if their stories played out in reality.
Download and start listening now!
This light and breezy read will have your mind soaring as you learn to see your favorite heroes on an entirely new light.
—
Dirk Mateer, author of Principles of Economics
About J. Brian O'Roark
J. Brian O’Roark is a University Professor of Economics at Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh, and is a coauthor of Essentials of Economics, with Lee Coppock and Dirk Mateer. He is on the board of directors for the Journal of Economics Teaching and serves in the role of associate editor. In 2014, Brian was given the Undergraduate Teaching Innovation Award by the Middle Atlantic Association of Colleges of Business Administration and in 2016 he received the President’s Award for Outstanding Teaching at RMU.
About Mike Chamberlain
Mike Chamberlain is an actor and voice-over performer in Los Angeles whose audiobook narration has won several AudioFile Earphones Awards. His voice credits range from radio commercials and television narration to animation and video game characters. Stage trained at Boston College, he has performed works from Shakespeare and the classics to contemporary drama and comedy.