EconTalk The Economics of Scarcity and the UNC-Duke Basketball Game (with Michael Munger)
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Mar 16, 2026 
Michael Munger, economist and professor known for work on political economy and public choice, explores the crazy world of Duke–UNC ticket scarcity. He describes tenting rituals, a 58-question trivia test, student-written constitutions, and strict enforcement. Short stories reveal how rituals, monitoring, and emergent rules allocate scarce rewards and build intense community bonds.
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Four Ways To Ration Scarce Goods
- Scarcity requires a mechanism: price, queuing, lottery, or authority each have trade-offs.
- Michael Munger lists deadweight loss from nonprice methods and warns discretion invites misuse, using minimum wage as an example.
Don't Make Queues More Comfortable If You Want Shorter Lines
- Avoid adding comforts that inflate wasteful competition when allocating freebies.
- Michael Munger's exam thought experiment shows comfortable perks (recliners, music) lengthen waiting time and increase deadweight.
How K‑Ville Started With A Party Tent
- K-Ville began in 1986 when students rented a party tent to secure Duke–UNC tickets and turned overnight waiting into multi-night camping.
- That first tent spawned a recurring village with streets, lights, and a 40-year tradition.