Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Recession fun: spot the inferior good!

In economics, an inferior good is a one which is consumed less as income rises. This is an easy concept to understand: as you get older and make more money, you’re probably going to eat less Ramen Noodles. However, consumption of inferior goods is also broadly counter-cyclical, meaning that as the economy slows, consumption is likely to rise.

We're in the midst of a bad recession, which means that many people have less money to spend on leisure. Instead, here’s a game you can play for free. I call it: SPOT THE INFERIOR GOOD! The rules are simple: whoever identifies the most goods for which consumption has increased during the last year, wins. Post lists and debate whether goods are actually inferior in the comments; winner gets a free cup of Ramen Noodles!

Here’s my list:

1. Natural Light Beer
2. Subway Veggie Delite Subs
3. Pornography
4. Spam
5. Boxed wine
6. Tuxedo t-shirts
7. Rob Schneider movies

Hey, I said it was a bad recession...

1 comment:

Nicholas Lembo said...

If history is any judge children...birth rates will decline during the recession