Patrick Filler

How Much is Hogwarts Tuition?

The economics department at Lehigh University took a stab at answering that very question:

On page 51 of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Harry receives a letter detailing the equipment that he is required to purchase for Hogwarts. The letter is reproduced here. Centives went to Amazon.co.uk to estimate how much each of the items would cost.

[snip]

One Pair of Protective Gloves (Dragon Hide or Similar)

Would Spirafil Synthetic Insulation and GORE-TEX waterproofing technology qualify as ‘similar’ to Dragon Hide? If so then they’ll cost you about £76.

Their conclusion is that a year at Hogwarts will cost you about the same as a year at a private American college (like Lehigh). If they’re right, it’s easy to understand why the Weasley’s are so poor. Putting 7 kids through 7 years of Hogwarts would set them back about 2 million bucks. Tough to do on one government salary!

(via Marginal Revolution)

US State Economic Equivalents

I have long been a fan of the anecdote that, if counted separately from the US economy, California’s economy would rank in top 10 worldwide. To me, it’s an excellent illustration of just how large the US economy is compared to the rest of the world. Now, The Economist has taken it a step further and assembled a map showing US states as their nearest counterpart by size in the world economy.

My present home, New Jersey (7th largest economy in the U.S.), has roughly the same economic output of Switzerland. Amazing.