Abstract

REIS MOURAO, Paulo. TALKING ABOUT ECONOMICS USING “THE GRAPES OF WRATH ”. Cuad. Econ. [online]. 2005, vol.24, n.43, pp. 65-81. ISSN 0121-4772.

Students may remark that, “Economics are not real.” This work suggests how Economics may help us to understand our world better. Steinbeck’s well-known novel, The Grapes of Wrath, tried to relate basic economic concepts to the events portrayed in the book to show that both Economics and Literature are useful for explaining the Great Depression’s complexity, specifically the complexity associated with workers migrating from state to state. This should make this text stimulating for some introductory undergraduate courses, suggesting market laws and other useful basic notions such as imperfect information, competitive markets or collective bargaining.

Keywords : teaching of economics; market for economists; unemployment.