Author and economist Andrew Wagner’s new book, The Economics of Online Gaming, shares how economic decisions get made by players of online games. We discuss how reputations and player behaviors impact success in the game.
For instance, a very positive reputation could lead other players to work with you, but it also could lead them to take advantage of you. Andrew discovered, in this game, that while a bad reputation sets people against you, it also provided unforeseen benefits in the game, economically speaking, of course.
We agree with Andrew that economics can be intimidating because it is a math-heavy field. To some, economics is simply inaccessible. However, we all love the drama found in video games, so Andrew combined drama with economics in his book.
Also, if you’ve not checked out our new podcast channel, Weekly Grooves, please do so. Each weekly episode is short-commute ready (no more than 15 minutes long) and brings behavioral insights to the week’s headlines. 
© 2020 Behavioral Grooves
Kurt Nelson, PhD: @WhatMotivates
Tim Houlihan: @THoulihan
 
Links
Andrew Wagner: https://www.linkedin.com/in/atwagner/
The Economics of Online Gaming:  https://www.businessexpertpress.com/books/the-economics-of-online-gaming-a-players-introduction-to-economic-thinking/
Eternal Lands: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eternal_Lands
PacMan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pac-Man
Guide to Common Biases and Heuristics: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XHpBr0VFcaT8wIUpr-9zMIb79dFMgOVFRxIZRybiftI/edit#
Ponzi Scheme: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ponzi_scheme
Tom Petters: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Petters
Bernie Madoff: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernie_Madoff
Multilevel Marketing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multi-level_marketing
Economies of Scale: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economies_of_scale
Reputation Capital: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reputation_capital
Comcast: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comcast
Risk Tolerance: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risk_aversion
Ethics: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethics
Jeff Kreisler: https://www.harpercollinsspeakersbureau.com/speaker/jeff-kreisler/
Alex Azar: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Azar
Boeing 737Max: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_737_MAX
FAA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Aviation_Administration
Dan Ariely: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Ariely
Napster: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napster
Welcome Back Kotter: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welcome_Back,_Kotter
Weekly Grooves: https://weeklygrooves.podbean.com/
 
Musical Links
Staind: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staind
The Fray: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fray
Cold Play: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coldplay
Fuel: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_(band)
Green Day: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Day
The Rembrandts: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rembrandts
“I’ll Be There For You” Theme Song: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I%27ll_Be_There_for_You_(The_Rembrandts_song)
John Sebastian: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Sebastian
“Welcome Back” Theme Song: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welcome_Back_(John_Sebastian_song)
The Lovin’ Spoonful: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lovin%27_Spoonful