Barbie doll prices vary by job, with only a moderate relation to actual salaries

BARBIE has been busy. The doll that celebrated her 54th birthday on March 9th has had more than 130 careers. Some command higher wages than others. What is perhaps surprising is that the price of a doll varies by profession. Most in the "Barbie I can be…" collection cost $13.99, according to its maker, Mattel, and Amazon. But some, like “computer engineer” or “snowboarder” can fetch two or three times more. This can’t simply be explained by the cheap accessories that come with it—why should a miniature plastic laptop be valued so much higher than a chef’s tiny cupcakes?

Matthew Notowidigdo, an economist at the University of Chicago, calls it the “Barbie Paradox,” an idea popularised by his colleague Emily Oster in an article last year in Slate. They conclude that price discrimination is probably at work: sellers exploit parental hopes that a girl playing palaeontologist may grow up to be the real thing, so charge more. And the white-collar professions certainly assuage criticisms from the early 1990s when Mattel released talking Barbies that groused “Math class is tough” (which inspired The Economist to publish an in-depth analysis of the pint-sized princess in 2002). Interestingly, there is only a modest correlation between Barbie’s occupations and real-world salaries. Inexpensive pilot dolls are paid quite a lot in life, and despite babysitter Barbie’s moderately high price, she would take home a pittance as a childcare worker.