Research in the International Journal of Pluralism and Economics Education argues that “The Jungle Book” can serve as an unconventional teaching tool for undergraduate economics, using the original stories by Rudyard Kipling as well as the Disney film adaptations to introduce concepts ranging from scarcity and sustainability to happiness and development.
The researchers used qualitative content analysis, a technique that looks beyond the literal content of texts to identify underlying themes and patterns. They thus examined passages from the literary work and the 1967 animated film, as well as its 2016 live-action adaptation. They focused on the theme of the “bare necessities", the basic goods and conditions required for a decent quality of life. The concept was made punningly famous by the lyric sung by Phil Harris voicing the friendly bear of the story, Baloo.
The material is used to illustrate concepts including opportunity cost, the idea that choosing one option means giving up another; barter and monetary economies; sustainable production and consumption; and the relationship between income and happiness. The team suggests that the same material might allow teachers to develop more advanced lessons that even connect the stories to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the “tragedy of the commons”, in which an individual’s pursuit of their own interests can deplete the resources the benefits of which everyone might otherwise share.
Laha, A. and Maji, S.K. (2026) ‘Bare necessities: understanding economics from The Jungle Book’, Int. J. Pluralism and Economics Education, Vol. 16, No. 2, pp.200–223.
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