The Economics Of Breaking Bad

August 12, 2013 in Daily Bulletin

Enjoyed the episode of Breaking Bad yesterday? Megan Kamerick and Chris Gray Faust both wrote about the economic impact that Breaking Bad is having on Albuquerque – the New Mexican city which the show is set in:

  • Each episode results in $1 million in direct spending in the city.
  • A tourist industry has also sprung up around the show. For $65 visitors can take a 3.5 hour trip of 13 famous locations from the show.
  • It is possible to buy bags of blue rock candy that resembles the blue meth depicted in Breaking Bad.
  • “Bathing Bad” makes bath salts that promises to “relax away the bad”.
  • Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul, the stars of the show, also bought houses in Albuquerque to live in while they were filming.
  • Some aren’t happy that New Mexico – which has the highest overdose rate in the United States – has become popular for a show about meth.

If you’re a fan of the show (and, let’s face it, it seems like most people are) you’ll enjoy the articles here and here.

Source: NPR, USA Today