Two for the Price of One

Naturally, econ is not the only class I have homework for. So, when I was told I had to write an original children’s story for my Spanish class, I thought, why not kill two birds with one stone? Our story was supposed to have a moral and teach kids a lesson, so teaching them about sharing would satisfy my Spanish requirement, and I could also incorporate economics concepts and then write about my assignment for the econ blog. The story I created was about two characters, each well practiced in separate trades, and each producing a different good. The people living nearby rely on these two goods, thus creating a demand for both products that each character supplies. By ignoring each other, they are self-sufficient and consume whatever they produce that they do not supply to the town. But, both characters also needed what the other produced, and they were unable to produce it themselves. If the two characters were to specialize in their own trades, but also trade with one another, they could both become better off. This way, they minimize their costs as well as maximize their profits because they are using their time to produce the good that they can best produce. With an understanding of economics concepts, I was able to write an original story for one class and also gain more knowledge about another class.