Economic pluralism and the Disney princesses

The objective of this paper is to present a pluralist perspective on teaching economic principles through the three Disney stories of Cinderella, The Little Mermaid and The Princess and the Frog. Introducing both neoclassical and heterodox perspectives through Disney animations catches student interest and improves student understanding in a way that traditional pedagogies do not. This is because it makes economic content more relatable to students and thus improves their retention of economic ideas. The emphasis in this paper is on complementing the teaching of standard economics principles with heterodox ideas and concepts including a focus on relative income, exploitation of individuals with lower cognitive abilities, shaping of consumer preferences through predatory advertisements, institutional racism and the limits of markets in addressing discrimination.