As you prepare for the premiere of the sixth season of Game of Thrones, you should wonder if all the problems in the show could have been solved if the King had merely hired an economist. At least that’s what Carolyne Larrington thinks:

• Part of the reason for the instability in the Seven Kingdoms is that the capital has run up debts that it’s unable to repay.
• Some bankers have thus resorted to financing the crown’s opponents, in the hopes that they will usurp the throne and pay down the original debts.
• In fact, in the books, the banks have stopped providing financing to the Kingdom’s merchants as well, causing trade to grind to a halt and increasing discontent.
• Meanwhile Daenerys is struggling to keep control of her lands because she disrupted the lucrative business of international slavery, thus leading to the creation of an insurgency funded by the wealthy.

The full article covers many more aspects of Westerosi economic policy. Read it here.

Source: 1843