The Barbie movie has been this summer's biggest blockbuster, racing towards $1 billion in global ticket sales and reigniting age-old debates about what Barbie, the famous doll, means to American culture, the patriarchy, and feminism.
But this Barbie is an economist too. And she can also illustrate how average Americans are significantly more prosperous today than they were a few generations ago—despite the arguments made by populists on both the right and left.
