Tag Archives: economics

The Economics of Mangos

Katja and Felix discussing the lecture during a break

Katja and Felix discussing the lecture during a break

Mangifera indica – also known as Mango – seems to play an important role on this Caribbean island. Not only is it available on nearly every street corner, it also had a major part in the Economics for Entrepreneurs Class given by Katja Krafczyk and Felix Harms.

Like every morning, the students as well as the instructors had to travel to Université Quisqueya from their houses and hosts. For some students it takes as much as two hours to get to class. As the traffic is always busy during rush hours, classes usually start a little later. But the mixture of the local Caribbean culture and the high motivation of the participants makes nobody ever complain about it.

To explain the basics of Economics, Katja and Felix used a simple and common good: Mangos. What does a supply and demand curve look like? What happens if I raise the price of the Mangos I am selling? How can I use the imperfect market to increase the profit I make with my fruits? In groups, the students were asked to apply the content that they learned in class to their businesses. What is the best price, given the fact that I want to maximize my profit? The participants came up with lots of ideas and strategies that were discussed enthusiastically.

In the evening the speakers joined the local Rotary Club at their weekly meeting to inform about the first results of the camp. The Rotary Club de Petion Ville was and still is highly supportive for the camp.

To summarize this day – by using the Mangos as a commodity, the participants got introduced to the basics of economics. During the class, not only the students were able to learn from the speakers, but also the speakers were able to gain insights about the Haitian market.