Public Choice Lessons from the Wizarding World of Harry Potter

Authors

Marta Podemska-Mikluch, Gustavus Adolphus College
Darwyyn Deyo, George Mason UniversityFollow
David Mitchell, University of Central Arkansas

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

January 2016

Publication Title

The Journal of Private Enterprise

Volume

31

Issue Number

1

First Page

57

Last Page

69

Abstract

J. K. Rowling’s series of books about the underage wizard Harry Potter is an effective tool for introducing students to the key concepts of public choice. By keeping political figures at the forefront of the story, Rowling encourages students to recognize the different incentives individuals face in markets versus politics. To illuminate the pedagogical potential of the series and to ease its adoption, we discuss a set of examples that best illustrate the key concepts of public choice. We also share a classroom exercise showcasing how the series can be used to promote active learning.

Comments

This article originally appeared in The Journal of Private Enterprise, 31, 1, 2016. This work can also be found online at this link.
SJSU Users: use the following link to login and access the article via SJSU databases.

Recommended Citation

Marta Podemska-Mikluch, Darwyyn Deyo, and David Mitchell. "Public Choice Lessons from the Wizarding World of Harry Potter" The Journal of Private Enterprise (2016): 57-69.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License