Non-Sports Lockouts

I am often asked what I do as a lecturer at the University of Iowa.  One of the answers to that question is that I teach a course called Sports Economics.  That often is received with some skepticism, as why would taxpayers in Iowa be willing to subside this type of education?  I explain that what I do is use the sports market to explain economic ideas, instead of using a much more general market.

Here is a topic where studying sports helps think about the labor market:  lockouts.  The New York Times has recently reported that lockouts in non-sports industries is increasing.  Having studied sports lockouts allows one to address some of the implications for non-sports markets, which I plan to incorporate into my Sports Economics class.