Charlie and the Economics Factory
The highly anticipated results from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas’s annual high school essay contest are in. And the winners seem to like chocolate and monsters.
This year’s topic: Economics in Motion Pictures. Think of a favorite movie, students of the Fed’s Eleventh District were told, and “reveal the economics starring in the film.”
Both the first- and second-place winners prevailed by invoking Willy Wonka. Their essays were based on the two movies adapted from the 1964 book, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which follows young Charlie Bucket after he discovers one of five golden tickets to tour Willy Wonka’s mysterious chocolate factory. The third-place winner deconstructed Monsters Inc., about the 1930s power company in Monstropolis that sends scary monsters into children’s bedrooms to generate screams that power the city.
First-place winner Charles Herrmann of Bryan, Texas, called Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (the 2005 film starring Johnny Depp) “a remarkable treatise on microeconomics.”
Source: Getty Images
From his essay, which won a $1,000 savings bond:
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“The golden tickets not only boost Wonka’s chocolate sales; they have effects on other industries as well. The golden tickets drastically increased the demand for chocolate, which in turn increased the number of cavities. With more cavities, the demand for toothpaste increased; the positive correlation between the demands of chocolate and toothpaste means that chocolate and toothpaste are complementary goods. Due to the increased profits, the toothpaste factory decided to replace the workers with machines. Charlie’s father’s job screwing lids on toothpaste tubes is eliminated because the factory substitutes capital for unskilled labor as an input in production (McConnell 45). However, later in the movie, Mr. Bucket receives a new job fixing the machine that replaced him. Mr. Bucket is rehired because skilled labor and capital are complementary inputs in production (McConnell 45).”
Second-place winner Rosemary Parravano of Dallas delves into Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (the original 1971 film, starring Gene Wilder) for its tales of oligopolistic competition between Mr. Wonka and Arthur Slugworth of Slugworth Chocolates Inc.
From her essay, which won a $500 savings bond:
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“Willy Wonka also secures the ability to distinguish his candy through the low cost and recipe security of his outsourced labor. … After secretly reopening the factory fifteen years later, Wonka’s source of labor remains a mystery to everyone in the town. It is not until the tour that the candy maker reveals his work force: Oompa Loompas. Waist-high men with orange faces and green hair, Oompa Loompas hail from the fictional Loompaland, an isolated island in the Pacific Ocean. Wonka claims to have saved the Oompa Loompas from Wangdoodles and Hornswogglers, vicious beasts who terrorized them in Loompaland. The entire population agreed to employment in the factory in exchange for safety, protection, and a salary of cacao beans, their favorite food. Wonka is able to reduce operating costs through his deal with the Oompa Loompas because cacao beans appear to be in ready supply throughout the factory. Also, they guarantee security for Wonka’s recipes since they never leave the factory. By outsourcing his labor, Wonka can spend more in other areas, most likely technology and marketing. This increased spending allows him to continue the practices which set his products apart from his competitors.”
Third-place winner Jonathan Lallinger of Houston won a $250 savings bond for his essay looking at the energy crisis in Monsters Inc. He writes:
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“Another economic issue that does not help the energy crisis in the monster world is the fact that all of the new job applicants are not well educated nor are they trained to the standards of the company. Normally this would result in structural unemployment because the workers do not fit the job descriptions, but because of the crisis the company is forced to incur the costs of training new recruits. The movie does not say how the corporation has enough money to train these new workers, which could be a point of contention. Usually when a recession is taking place the business do not have the money to hire, even though qualified workers are looking for jobs. During this period of cyclical unemployment the government would usually step in to help the business, or cut rates, or some other type of monetary policy that they think would set the economy back on the right path to growth.”
More about the winners and a list of finalists is at the Dallas Fed’s essay site. –Sudeep Reddy
Humm… sound faimilar, where have I heard this before… Yep… new congress and Government leaders issuses!
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“Another economic issue that does not help the energy crisis in the monster world is the fact that all of the new job applicants are not well educated nor are they trained to the standards of the company. (Should have added the word (Government) leaders in front of the word “company”… you think!
In the face of what is most likely the gravest economic crisis of the past 35 years, is this kind of tripe appropriate?
It’s not an Oil Crisis it’s a Dollar Crisis
By: Peter Schiff, Euro Pacific Capital, Inc.
The reality is that after years of reckless consumption and dollar debasement, Americans are now being priced out of markets over which they formerly held unchallenged title. As more affluent foreigners consume more of the resources and products they previously supplied to us, Americans are being forced to cut back. The rising dollar-based price of gasoline is simply an illustration of this global trend.
in my fifties, struggling to deal with the lasting effects of a long-term medical situation that is going to end sadly before too much longer (my mother, who lives with me), financially wiped out through no fault of my own a few years back, two sons who are wrestling with their own finances and lives, health problems of my own, worried about the future and longing for the silver rocket to take off. (Lord, money may not buy happiness, but it sure solves a lot of problems!) I’m not stuck in an apartment, as Mom and I purchased a repo house just before the real estate market peaked, but the house needs a lot of work, and I’m anxious to fix it up. My pm stash is really about all I have (no retirement), and a couple of times in the past few years emergencies have forced me to sell a bit. Sometimes I feel like Atlas — the weight of the world is on my shoulders.
All I can tell you is that I stumble through and I try to take comfort in the fact that I’m doing the best that I’m able, and I’m doing the right thing by my mother in the meantime. I plan to hold onto this house by hook or by crook for as long as I can, and if the rocket takes off and roars high enough, someday I’ll be able to pay the house off, rent out some of the rooms, and live off of the income. If the rocket doesn’t take off in time for me, I find peace in the knowledge that my children will enjoy the fruit of my wisdom and my distrust of our economic system. I’ve taught my sons to think outside the box financially, and to think for themselves rather than letting the government think for them. And by my example, I’ve taught them that love and responsibility go hand-in-hand; whatever the future holds, my children will never let me starve or fall into homelessness.
I believe that better times are coming for both of us, and I believe that it isn’t as far off as we sometimes fear.
While we wait for the rocket, all we can do is to try to find joy each day in the small things: a summer breeze, holding hands, a puppy’s snuggle, a glorious sunset. A rich life has little to do with money. Live well, laugh often, love much. And pray frequently. We’re going to be okay.
this is realy realy realy cool
This is the stupidest econ blog article yet. Way to go WSJ. Let’s focus on teaching our starving kids how wonka gold certificates work. Brilliant journalism.
loompa:
considering that the current crisis happened because too many people don’t know jack about economics, I’d say it’s very appropriate to find a way to teach children the otherwise very boring subject of economics.
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