SWIFTONOMICS: USING TAYLOR SWIFT TO TEACH ECONOMICS

Authors

  • Kelsey Halfen Dahlberg
  • Signè DeWind
  • Wayne Geerling
  • Austin Green
  • G. Dirk Mateer

Keywords:

demand, foreign exchange rates, supply, Swiftonomics, Taylor Swift

Abstract

Taylor Swift is the most iconic music artist of her generation; her current Eras Tour is already the highest grossing of all time. Given her fame, fortune, and popularity among Millennials and Gen Z, which make up the vast majority of today’s college and high school students, Taylor Swift’s career offers a myriad of opportunities for teaching economics. The impact of her career has led to a new term entering the economics lexicon: Swiftonomics (the economics of Taylor Swift and Swift’s impact on the economy). This paper provides two lesson plans that make use of the Taylor Swift phenomenon to illustrate the concepts of supply and demand and exchange rates. For each lesson plan, we provide links to videos and news articles and a range of assessment activities involving Quizizz and a standalone handout which can be used in-class or assigned for homework. The size, diversity, and devotion of Taylor Swift’s fanbase (colloquially known as Swifties) presents economic educators with a unique opportunity to incorporate economic lessons within their current curriculum, from high school through to an introductory economics course at the college level.

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Published

2024-10-04

Issue

Vol. 24 No. 2 (2024): JOURNAL FOR ECONOMIC EDUCATORS

Section

Articles

License

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