How many stereotypes about countries are really just about laws? For instance, are Europeans lazy, or does their tax system disincentivize work? I wanted to explore this for the U.S. and identified the laws outlined in the video as leading to 30-year mortgages, oversized vehicles, and corn syrup.
One of the hard parts about making econ video essays is that you want the video to feel like an exploration of a question: a mystery unraveling rather than a lecture. This one seemed difficult to pull that off, so I decided to embrace the lecture format but add an audience member to push back and land the key takeaways.
More generally, so many things we think of as culture can trace their origins to laws and technology. Every time I research something, I almost always find culture as the dominant explanation in the public consciousness, but there’s a law change plus a technological innovation operating in the background. For instance:
Why did wheeled suitcases take so long?
Cultural explanation: Men were macho and refused wheeled suitcases, insisting on carrying their own bag and their partner’s.
But the real reasons—
Law change: Airline deregulation in the late 1970s meant cheaper tickets, more middle-class fliers, and more solo fliers.
Technology: Polyurethane wheels and telescoping handles.
Why did the IPA rise to dominance in the U.S.?
Cultural explanation: Gen X wanted bolder-flavored beer.
But the real reasons—
Law change: Another deregulation in the late 1970s allowed home brewing, which led to local breweries.
Technology: A new hop variety (Cascade), developed in the 1970s, became the backbone of the American IPA.
Do you have any other examples?
I hope you enjoy the video and my son’s excellent acting (I’m biased).
Recommendations
Reason on the history of sugar–
New York Times on junk food – https://archive.nytimes.com/well.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/07/19/how-the-government-supports-your-junk-food-habit/
Planet Money on the chicken tax –
Sources:
Fetter, Daniel. “The 20th Century Increase in US Home Ownership: Facts and Hypotheses.” Housing and Mortgage Markets in Historical Perspective (2012).
Kish, Richard J. “The dominance of the US 30-Year fixed rate Residential Mortgage.” Journal of Real Estate Practice and Education 24.1 (2022): 1-16.
Siegel, Karen R., et al. “Association of higher consumption of foods derived from subsidized commodities with adverse cardiometabolic risk among US adults.” JAMA internal medicine 176.8 (2016): 1124-1132.
Snowden, Kenneth. “A Historiography of Early NBER Housing and Mortgage Research.” Housing and mortgage markets in historical perspective. University of Chicago Press, 2014. 15-36.
Ullman, Darin F. “A difficult road ahead: Fleet fuel economy, footprint-based CAFE compliance, and manufacturer incentives.” Energy Economics 57 (2016): 94-105.
