Panem Case Study

Welcome to Panem! A command economy controlled by the political elite located in the capital. President Snow and his cronies are in charge of the resources and dictate how and how much of each good is produced in the districts. Panem is made up of twelve districts that contribute to luxurious life in the capital. Because Panem has a large economy and it is controlled by a board of political elite in the capital there is coordination problem. Since the board lives a luxurious lifestyle in the highly advanced capital, they do not always see where resources should be allocated and fail to meet the needs of the districts. The economy operates like a machine, once one set of resources are misallocated there is chain reaction of consequences for …show more content…
The luxuries, technologies, textiles and foods aren’t going back into the districts to provide for themselves, the capital is sitting on a surplus and extracting at the districts expense. For example the districts can’t travel to other districts using the transportation that they provide. The capital thrives off of the districts and without the districts’ provided goods and services the capital couldn’t survive on its own. This extracting model is why the districts live in poverty and poverty is another way for the capital to control the districts. There are people starving and dying in the districts and yet the districts think that the capital wants and is trying to honestly help them. They also believe that the capital is the only one who has the power to help them, because they have never known another power. This false hope is why the districts won’t rebel against their own country. They honestly believe that their government is good. However, district thirteen with their stores of high tech weapons realize that the economy is just a struggle to remain in the power elite. They realize how dangerous the game of power is at the expense of the working but they also know that if they rebel another person would swoop into the seat in all the chaos. District thirteen’s leader is waiting for the right time to take advantage of the situation. Fast forward to present day according to Matthew Yglesias’ research …show more content…
The workers have no incentive to work because they can’t provide for themselves or their families. The workers can’t get ahead. The workers only work because of threats from the capital and the peacekeepers on their backs. The peacekeepers will harm and kill someone for not working. Since the workers can’t put food on the table they either die of starvation or break the law. People break the law by trading in secret markets or sneaking outside the gate. Katniss hunts outside the gate and trades at the underground market to provide for her family. Even that is not enough because the Evergreen family still goes hungry. Katniss was starving one time and met Peeta because he threw her a burnt loaf of bread. Peeta’s parents hit and yelled at him because he gave away food. People in District twelve were too poor to even be kind let alone buy things. The capital is luxurious and overflowing with excess to the point that they are very wasteful. When Katniss travels to the capital for the Hunger Games she recognizes how they live. The capital may be fine but the economy as a whole is suffering from the workers lack of incentive to own property and be able to be creative, set goals, and move up the ladder. Competition is an incentive in itself. The people of Panem would not only be healthier but also be happier and have more of variety of goods and services to choose from. The districts are missing out on being healthy,