The Economics of Scarcity and the UNC-Duke Basketball Game (with Michael Munger)

2026-03-16 · 66 min · episode 1041 · 20 entities

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→ appeared on EconTalk podcast

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The Economics of Scarcity and the UNC-Duke Basketball Game (with Michael Munger)
→ hosted by Russ Roberts person

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Feed author/publisher: Russ Roberts
→ hosted by Library of Economics and Liberty person

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→ discusses Philosophy concept

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→ discusses Education concept

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→ discusses Social Sciences concept

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Feed category: Social Sciences

Entities found in this episode

concepts 14

mentioned Society & Culture concept

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mentioned Science concept

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Feed category: Science
mentioned Philosophy concept

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mentioned Courses concept

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mentioned Social Sciences concept

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mentioned Scarcity and the UNC-Duke Basketball Game concept

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The Economics of Scarcity and the UNC-Duke Basketball Game
discusses Society & Culture concept

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evidence rules-v4
Feed category: Society & Culture
discusses Science concept

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evidence rules-v4
Feed category: Science
discusses Philosophy concept

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evidence rules-v4
Feed category: Philosophy
discusses Education concept

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Feed category: Education
discusses Courses concept

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Feed category: Courses
discusses Social Sciences concept

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Feed category: Social Sciences
mentioned UNC concept

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UNC

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mentioned Michael Munger person

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The Economics of Scarcity and the UNC-Duke Basketball Game (with Michael Munger)
mentioned Russ Roberts person

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Feed author/publisher: Russ Roberts
mentioned Library of Economics and Liberty person

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Feed author/publisher: Library of Economics and Liberty
hosted by Russ Roberts person

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evidence rules-v4
Feed author/publisher: Russ Roberts
hosted by Library of Economics and Liberty person

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Feed author/publisher: Library of Economics and Liberty

podcasts 1

appeared on EconTalk podcast

0.68

evidence rules-v4
The Economics of Scarcity and the UNC-Duke Basketball Game (with Michael Munger)

Episode description as stored

Duke University leaves millions of dollars on the table every year by giving away free tickets to the most sought-after game in college basketball. The bizarre ticket allocation system includes weeks of camping in tents, a 58-question trivia exam, border guards with air horns at 3 AM, and a 50-page student-written constitution with its own appeals court. In this special 20th-anniversary episode, EconTalk's Russ Roberts and returning favorite Michael Munger (appearance #51!) use the legendary Duke-UNC rivalry to explore the fundamental economics question: how do you deal with a world when there isn't enough of something to go around? Along the way, they ask why a university that squeezes students on every other margin, might deliberately forgo a fortune on ticket sales. The answer has everything to do with community, belonging, and the same psychology that bonds fighter pilots and elite military units.