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Markets in only a few things
The professor even told of a shop in which human manure could be traded to be used as an alternative to chemical fertilizer, an item on which the North had heavily depended from the South for years.
"Skinny jeans, blue crabs, pig-intestine rolls" are now all actively traded in the Hermit Kingdom.
For the pointer I thank a Bulls fan.
Posted by Tyler Cowen on January 3, 2011 at 12:52 PM in Economics | Permalink
Comments
I initially read it as North Korea was heavily dependent on human manure from South Korea, which gave rise to some funny thoughts until I reread the passage.
Posted by: Norman Pfyster at Jan 3, 2011 1:18:54 PM
Humanure was actually widely traded throughout history. The following article at Low Tech Magazine gives an excellent narrative on the issue and its relevance today.
Posted by: rdavout at Jan 4, 2011 6:37:24 AM
What about the market surrounding trade (what little there is) with China? The simplicity affording by North Korea's isolationist stance actually makes it an
Posted by: Jim at Jan 5, 2011 3:13:07 AM
...(oops?) ideal real-world example of the basic theories of comparative advantage. I tried to hyper-link but the gods of the blogs are not on my side today. I write about this here: http://bofham.blogspot.com/2011/01/juche-and-international-trade.html.
Posted by: Jim at Jan 5, 2011 3:15:16 AM
