levy_07

Emory University
Department of Economics
Working Papers

Title:

Human Capital and Economic Growth in the Potterian Economy *

Number: 07-02

Author:
Avichai Snir and Daniel Levy

Issue Date: February 2007

Abstract: In this paper, we analyze the economic structure of the world of wizards as depicted in the Harry Potter books, which we term Potterian economy, and offer an economist’s perspective on it. We look at the economic structure of the life of Harry Potter and his co-actors as an economic model that governs the social organization of their economic activities. Our goal is to study and understand the internal consistency of the Potterian economic model and explore the relationships between its assumptions and the situation in the real world, as reflected in the Potterian model. To accomplish this, we focus on a textbook version of Solow’s economic growth model, which economists often use for studying the process of nations’ income determination and which serves as a standard benchmark for comparative economic growth studies. The analysis of the Potterian economy reveals that the Potterian model fits quite well the predictions of the economic growth model. We discuss potential implications of this finding, and explore the link between Potterian economic structure and performance in a broader context by discussing the link between economic institutions and economic outcomes.

* Harry Potter and the Law, edited by Franklin Snyder and Jeffrey Thomas (Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press), forthcoming

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Title:	Human Capital and Economic Growth in the Potterian Economy *
Number:	07-02
Author:	Avichai Snir and Daniel Levy
Issue Date:	February 2007
Abstract:	In this paper, we analyze the economic structure of the world of wizards as depicted in the Harry Potter books, which we term Potterian economy, and offer an economist’s perspective on it. We look at the economic structure of the life of Harry Potter and his co-actors as an economic model that governs the social organization of their economic activities. Our goal is to study and understand the internal consistency of the Potterian economic model and explore the relationships between its assumptions and the situation in the real world, as reflected in the Potterian model. To accomplish this, we focus on a textbook version of Solow’s economic growth model, which economists often use for studying the process of nations’ income determination and which serves as a standard benchmark for comparative economic growth studies. The analysis of the Potterian economy reveals that the Potterian model fits quite well the predictions of the economic growth model. We discuss potential implications of this finding, and explore the link between Potterian economic structure and performance in a broader context by discussing the link between economic institutions and economic outcomes.