Teaching economics using scenes from <i>Superstore</i>

Abstract

Superstore follows a group of employees working at Cloud 9, a fictional big-box retailer in Missouri. The television show aired on NBC for 6 seasons and offers economic educators an abundance of scenes that can be used to teach undergraduate economics. All of the scenes mentioned in the lesson plans, and many more, are freely available online on the Teaching with Superstore website. A benefit of using a show like Superstore to teach economics is that it features a diverse cast and a familiar setting to any student who has shopped in a big box retailer. We highlight four episodes that are rich in teaching content and include assessment questions that instructors can assign in their classrooms. Each of the scenes outlined in the paper pose a particular economic problem faced by characters on the show with clear pedagogical economic concepts.