the economics of the hunger games and divergent: making dystopia didactic jeffrey cleveland, howard...

The Economics ofThe Hunger Games and Divergent:

Making Dystopia Didactic

Jeffrey Cleveland, Howard Community College (MD)Kim Holder, University of West GeorgiaBrian O’Roark, Robert Morris University (PA)

NETA 11th AnnualEconomics Teaching Conference

Dallas, Texas

November 5-6, 2015

© 2015 Jeffrey Cleveland 2

Agenda

• About my classroom• Background: The Hunger Games and

Divergent• Macro- and microeconomic lessons• The assignment → results

Got a question? Ask anytime.


About Howard County, Maryland

• Centrally located between Baltimore and Washington, DC

• Population: 310,000 (5% of MD)

• Median HH income: $109,865 (second in U.S.)

• #6 “Best Places to Live,” MONEY Magazine

• Howard Community College– 14,000 credit students– “Great College to Work For,” 2009-2014, Chronicle of Higher Education– “You Can Get There From Here.”

Baltimore

Washington, DC


Classroom Demographics

• Both intro to macro and micro• 22-26 students

Females37%

Males63%

up to 2450%

25 to 3935%

40 +15%


Economics: What WE Think

MR = MC

Y = C(Y - T) + I + G + NX

PV = F / (1 + i)n

(Δ Qd / Avg Qd) (Δ Pr / Avg Pr)

Ep =Price

Quantity

S

D1

$3

50

D2

$4

70

Δ TVC Δ QMC =


Economics: What THEY Think

“What have I gotten myself into?!”


Abstract Theory

“You Can Get There From Here”

Real Life (Meaningful Use)


The Hunger GamesSuzanne Collins

• 2008, Scholastic Press• First book in trilogy• Initially positioned as Young

Adult Fiction• Print + digital: 28M HG/65M

trilogy• Four-movie franchise, $2B• Numerous awards• First-person protagonist 16-

year-old Katniss Everdeen


The Hunger Games: Plot Overview

• Panem, a post-apocalyptic North America• The Capitol and 13 surrounding Districts• The Capitol: Seat of power, wealth, and control• Each district assigned specific production

function (District 12: coal)


Map of Panem

Transportation

Grain


The Hunger Games Backstory

• Uprising 74 years ago by the Districts against the Capitol

• Capitol emerged victorious, destroying District 13 in the process


The Hunger Games Backstory

“War, terrible war. Widows, orphans, a motherless child. This was the uprising that rocked our land. Thirteen districts rebelled against the country that fed them, loved them, protected them. Brother turned on brother until nothing remained. And then came the peace, hard fought, sorely won. A people rose up from the ashes and a new era was born. But freedom has a cost. When the traitors were defeated, we swore as a nation we would never know this treason again. And so it was decreed that, each year, the various districts of Panem would offer up, in tribute, one young man and woman to fight to the death in a pageant of honor, courage and sacrifice. The lone victor, bathed in riches, would serve as a reminder of our generosity and our forgiveness. This is how we remember our past. This is how we safeguard our future.”

President Coriolanus Snow https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgEJyn69cw4


The Treaty of the Treason

• “In penance for their uprising, each District shall offer up a male and female (“Tributes”) between the ages of 12 and 18 at a public ‘Reaping.’

• “These Tributes shall be delivered to the custody of the Capitol, then transferred to a public arena where they will Fight to the Death until a lone victor remains.

• “Henceforth and forevermore this pageant shall be known as the Hunger Games.”


1. Identifying theEconomic Organization

Gregory and Stuart (1999)• Decision-making structure

Centralized multitude of economic actors

• Coordination and dissemination of informationPlanning document pricing mechanism

• Property ownership and rightsState common/co-op private

• IncentivesFear self-interest


1. Identifying theEconomic Organization

• Capitol controls ALL economic decisions– Monopsony; no inter-district trade– Absolute or comparative advantage?

• Information– Plan quotas enforced through Peacekeepers

• Property ownership– Capitol owns all factors of production

• Incentives– Fear: the Reaping


2. Production:Possibilities and Frontiers

• Two-sector specific-factors model

Guns

Roses

B2

B1

B3

A1

A2

A3

A4

C1

C2


3. GDP and Standards of Living

• Defining economic activity and output• GDP per capita as a proxy for standard of living• Real-world comparative economics

Country GDP (B) GDP/capita

Canada$1,785

$44,967

USA$17,348

$54,370

Mexico$1,291

$17,950

Country GDP (B) GDP/capita

Haiti$9

$1,757

DR$64

$14,014Country GDP (B) GDP/capita

N. Korea$15

$1,800

S. Korea$1,667

$35,379

2014 GDP and GDP/capita PPP (Source: IMF)



• Advantage: Capitol– Access to/control of technology enablers– Standing military force– Exploitation through resource extraction– Political control through economic dominance and

restrictions



• NO free trade• NO labor mobility• NO inter-district travel or communication• NO capital formation or investment• NO private property or ownership rights• NO opportunity for entrepreneurship or innovation• NO ability to pursue self-interests• NO ability to enter into non-coerced contracts• NO pursuit of the profit motive



Do dystopian leaders care about the standards of living of their citizens?

• Drivers of economic growth– Free trade– Unrestricted travel and communication– Mobility of labor and capital– Private property ownership and rights– Consumer sovereignty – Entrepreneurship– Pursuit of self interests and the profit motive

Could the citizens of the Capitol have even higher

standards of living today?


4. Distribution of Income


5. Game Theory and theTaking of Tesserae

• Reaping Rules– All 12- to 18-year-olds– Cumulative entries over time

• 12-year old = one lottery entry• 13-year-old = two entries → 18-year-old = seven entries

– One boy, one girl from each of 12 districts

• Tesserae– “A year's meager supply of grain and oil for one person”– Limited to the total number of family members– Also cumulative entries over time

• (18-year-old) + (total family size = 5) + (tesserae each year) = 42 entries

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_s7qgNMqDJI


5. Game Theory and theTaking of Tesserae


6. A Special Case:Food as a Veblen Good?

Divergent: One Choice

• Decides your friends• Defines your beliefs• Determines your loyalties – forever• Can transform you• A lifetime of opportunity costs at the

‘Choosing Ceremony’: “On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives.”

Divergent: Division of LaborThe Factions are responsible for different

things to help the society function.

Compassion/ Governance

Food Law/ Technology

ProtectionTruth???

Divergent: It’s All About Scarcity

• Who controls the resources?

• Abnegation does, but Erudite wants them.

• Erudite’s claims: – Abnegation is withholding

resources.– They are giving the

“Factionless” too much.

Divergent: Production

• There is a need for labor to create prosperity– As Dauntless/Erudite begins their takeover, they can’t kill

EVERYONE.

• Human capital and technology– The Factionless want to destroy data. – To deprive Erudite of power they need to deprive them of

knowledge.

• Sustainable production – Amity is a perfect example– This is a general theme of dystopian production.


The Hunger Games: The Assignment

• 1,500 word paper on various economic ideas• Worth 15% of final grade• Structure

– Introduction/thesis– Critical thinking on key economic ideas– Conclusion/synthesis of thesis and thinking

• Grading criteria– Spelling, grammar, and organization– Clarity of the summary– Economic analysis– Timeliness


Paper Grades and Final Grades

n = 153


Student Observations

“Through the use of properly implemented fiscal and monetary policy by the government, the nation of Panem could enjoy drastically higher standards of living than those that are currently present among the lower districts, and improve the general measure of standard of living (Gross Domestic Product per capita) for the nation of Panem as a whole.”

- Griffin

“Collins shows that as long as this inefficient economic structure is in place, the odds will never be in their favor.”

- Nicole

The Economics ofThe Hunger Games and Divergent:

Making Dystopia Didactic

Jeffrey Cleveland, Howard Community College (MD)Kim Holder, University of West GeorgiaBrian O’Roark, Robert Morris University (PA)

NETA 11th AnnualEconomics Teaching Conference

Dallas, Texas

November 5-6, 2015

the economics of the hunger games and divergent: making dystopia didactic jeffrey cleveland, howard...

Documents

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