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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 comics may seem to be a world apart. But in the hands of economics professor and comic book hero aficionado 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 economics explains the mysteries of superhero behavior.
Spider-Man's existential doubts revolve around opportunity costs; Wonder Woman doesn't have a sidekick because she has a comparative advantage; game theory sheds light on the battle between Captain America and Iron Man; the Joker keeps committing crimes because of the Peltzman effect; and utility curves help us decide who is the greatest superhero of all.
Why Superman Doesn't Take Over the World probes the motivations of our favorite heroes, and reveals that the characters in the comics may have powers we dont, but they are still beholden to the laws of economics.
List of contents
- 1: Everyone loves a good backstory, even economists
- 2: Who is that masked man?
- 3: Keep your friends close, or why do superheroes team up?
- 4: But your enemies closer: Why do superheroes fight each other?
- 5: Don't give up your day job: Why do superheroes go to work?
- 6: Give up already! When superheroes are fighting crime, who wants to be a criminal?
- 7: Who's going to clean up this mess?
- 8: Where do they get those wonderful toys?
- 9: Why don't superheroes take over the world?
- 10: Who is the greatest of them all?
About the author
Brian O’Roark is a University Professor of Economics at Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh, and is a co-author of Essentials of Economics (with Lee Coppock and Dirk Mateer, W.W. Norton, 2016) and editor of Superheroes and Economics (Routledge, forthcoming). 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.
Summary
Why do some superheroes have day jobs? Why do villains keep trying even though they almost never win? Why don't heroes simply take over the world? With brilliant deadpan humour, comic aficionado professor J. Brian O’Roark uses the tools of economics to explain superheroes, and the world of superheroes to explain economics.
Additional text
Brian O’Roark cleverly applies the analytical tools of economics to questions that have stoked arguments among comic fans for decades, gently offering examples of economic reasoning and principles that today's students might find more entertaining than the typical textbook approach. In Why Superman Doesn't Take Over the World O’Roark scores a trifecta, bringing social sciences, comics studies, and pedagogy together in a unique and entertaining package.
Report
Readers [...] will definitely grasp the basics in a lighthearted and fun way. City A.M.
