fairy tales: Hansel and Gretel Guns can and Shortly before the school holidays, one of my children has brought the school a well-known tale of the Brothers Grimm, "Hansel and Gretel." While I have always been fond of tales and mythology, although knowing the outline of the work of evil brothers, I had never read their story. By browsing, I told myself, as Bruno Bettelheim once with his famous "psychoanalysis of fairy tales" (1976), this tale and many others can be an excellent introduction to economics. This idea, reader, I'll pound, with my usual generosity, as well as prospective teachers high school having to cope with the reform programs of SES .... (This last suggestion is a bit ironic, of course, because trying to attract teens to the economy with "The Three Little Pigs" could trigger the hilarity in the class)
In fact, seeking a bit, I realized that this idea had already occurred to others, as Ed Glaeser
here. He explains in particular, based on his 1992 article in the J ournal of Political Economy
, how the "paradox of Cinderella" can be explained. Briefly, the paradox lies in Cinderella that the stepmother of Cinderella neglects the beautiful in terms of investment and family is all about the two sisters of Cinderella, which seems counter-intuitive because in the race for success, (who married the king's son?) it should not put all your eggs in one basket and diversify its assets (so pampered Cinderella to the same degree as her daughters). He also mentioned other stories that the educational dimension of economic perspective is interesting, as the "Wizard of Oz" or "Jack and the Beanstalk." Good
back on topic, or rather our Hansel and Gretel ....
[I note in passing that this ticket worth twice its weight of anything, because for the same price, reader, you have the elements of a fairy tale to tell your children if you do not know the story of Hansel and Gretel premium and ideas for reflection for your old age. Moreover, reader, if you're a parent looking for stories to tell your toddler the night, here is one that enables you to terrify and frighten them with a bunch of witches and ogres imaginary likely to make them obey the finger and the eye, and this cheap ...] So Hansel and Gretel live in a cottage at the edge of the forest with their father, a brave man, and a stepmother absolutely detestable. Preview:
" The family had always been very poor, but when the famine throughout the country, they had absolutely nothing to eat ."
suggestions economic discussion: the concept of exogenous shock, endogenous to the economy (the famine can be likened to one or the other, an exogenous shock if for example it is the result of weather conditions have reduced the level subsistence farming, or an endogenous shock if for example the government has implemented taxes on food products); inequalities of wealth and income, choice of optimal location in the model developed by Alfred Weber (1909), brother of Max, in his book "Theory of industrial location."
On this last point, for example, just to make development a little more consistent, the father of Hansel and Gretel is a logger and chose to locate near the forest and not near the consumer market, the city. Weber's model perfectly explains this choice as if the weight of raw materials is more important than the weight of consumer goods that are manufactured with this raw material and transportation cost is based on distance and weight, then it is optimal to locate near the source of raw materials. Otherwise (weight of the consumer goods exceed the weight of the raw material, it would have been optimal to locate close to the final market in town. It can also discuss the limitations of the model, this particular assumption that my brave woodcutter is a monopoly.
Let the following story with another excerpt:
"I see only one solution," said his wife, the lead deep in the forest and leave them there.
"Lord" said the father, you ask me to abandon my children? "
"Would you rather we die of hunger every four?"
Discussion and Comments: The stepmother, while highly unpleasant, has followed the ideas of game theory course (even if it does not exist when the Grimm wrote the story) because it uses very well the idea strategy (weakly) dominant of game theory. In effect, abandoning the children with a fatal outcome implies a high probability only for them (especially if the wolf from Little Red Riding Hood is not satisfied with the outcome of his feast-based Great Mother, chaperone and butter and pot of milk, and it still drags in the forest). Conversely, do not abandon them involves a fatal outcome for the whole family. The rational choice and selfish is quickly ...
It is also possible to insist also on the scarcity of resources and the infinite nature of needs, the economy is the science of arbitrage between the two.
Thereupon, the father takes them to the forest, but fortunately lose Hans took care to sow small white pebbles, which again allows for children to find their way to the family cottage.
[A note, reader, it seems that the brothers Grimm were slightly plagiarized Perrault (Tom Thumb), which itself was plagiarized from Strabo, who himself had to plagiarize Homer. Indeed, in the Odyssey, the Greek sow wooden horses to find their way to Troy? No?].
Well, I spend a little faster. The family has since been repaid a loan made to King, she waited more resource (can be developed on sovereign risk and debt, citing passing the current case of the Greek economy and the current difficulties and future of the Greek government to borrow from individuals). Therefore, everything goes well for a while until that resource is exhausted providential. The father (twice) again takes the children into the forest to lose her children, but Hansel takes care of sowing bread crumbs, which is of absolutely no help, a chubby prankster flies all of its benchmarks.
We could also introduce the theory of repeated games, as if every time the family is in need children are carried out in the woods, they should anticipate, Hansel and should have a reserve of several tons of small white pebbles.
Children fall on the gingerbread house in the forest, inhabited by a witch to catch them ("we do not catch a fly with vinegar") in order to fatten Hans devour. Gretel is her maid to the witch waiting for the day of the fatal feast.
This is a wonderful illustration of the concept of investment as a detour as the production presented the Austrian economist Eugen Böhm-Bawerk
and the opportunity cost of capital formation .. . The witch has diverted some of its resources to build this house, which allows it to lure children away and yet another portion thereof to increase his capture.
Well, I pay the rest of the story, for your patience and mine must be exhausted. Hans
deceives the witch on her overweight (she's apparently a bit low to), then the children manage to throw in the oven and came across a treasure that made the fortune of the family, because, last but not least, they manage to find the way to the family home. All this ends up in an outpouring of joy at a reunion, especially since the meantime, the stepmother is passed from life to death, and there remains only the brave woodcutter who loves his children.
As an educational theory is valid only if it is tested, I tried to mark the reading of the story to make this introduction to economics for my son, seven years.
From our dialogue (I've dropped quite quickly on game theory and the concept of dominant strategy):
[At the time of passage over the detour of production]
- me: " you know, the witch eats Hans for it to grow and be more appetizing ... "
- him (obviously doubtful):" But why not the witch she eats all the sweets and cakes which she gives and she eats more Hans, even if it is lean? "
- me (even more doubtful):" Uh, maybe she likes not the candy first and then she may not be hungry today, so she prefers to wait until Hans is well chubby for when she is hungry .. . "
- him (frowning):" it is stupid that witch, she has to sell candy on e-bay, like that with the sub, it could buy meat and still Dining Hans if she's still hungry! "
- Me (annoyed):" Uh, I'll put the playstation, eh, it will be better ... "
I think he was not in a good mood, try next week with something more obvious, as the" three little pigs "....
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