Hallandren's economic stability

[WandererNearby]

To all of my economy geeks/nerds/fans, is the Hallandren economy stable? On the one hand, it's explicitly stated that the area is very fertile so the country should always have the option to grow food. On the other hand, it's also very clear that their dyes are the backbone of the economy which doesn't seem stable. That's inherently a piece of fashion and fashion has always seemed fickle to me. Like, what if for a handful of years the global fashion trends favor clothes with modest coloring? It seems like that would wreck the economy. Also, it's implied that Idris lasting long enough could wreck the economy. The Idrian don't have to win the war, they just have to hold out for a year or two to destroy a lot of the institutions. 

Does that seem right? 

[Quantus]

Hallandrian dyes provide better color fuel for awakening, specifically, which turns it into a technological and military resource.  And whether they talk about it much or not, Hallandrian's economy is probably being propped up by their open trade of Breaths themselves as much as anything. By the sound of things not all nations are as accepting of the Soul Trade. 

The Idrians threat as a nation was their control of a major trade route to Hallandrian, which itself was as much as trade-based economy as a craft-based one.  As a ruling family their threat was more in the Royal Locks giving them an undeniable and very strong claim to the historic unified throne. But their puritanical rejection of strong colors was said to be more of a reaction to their overly color-obsessed rivals.  I dont think it would be able to take root enough to fully suppress the need for color pigments (be they textile, paints, etc) unless something happened to REALLY demonize awakening as a whole...Something like a phantom army of nightmare rising from the forgotten past to wipe out the most puritanical of nations and martyr them...  But what are the odds?

 

1 hour ago, Frustration said:

The Chinese empire was largely built on silk, which was also a fashion choice.

True, though silk did and does have a lot of superior mechanical properties which probably influenced it's demand, at least until we started developing comparable synthetics.   

 

 

[Frustration]

The chinesse empire was largely built on silk, which was also a fashion choice.

[Mage]

While fashion is fickle, I think that dyes are a stable industry because it is a central part of clothing production despite the fashion choice. If people started preferring stripes over polka dots you will still need dyes to make either. Also, like you said they could always turn their energies toward the food industry during a time of war. I think their economy is definitely stable during peacetime, and during wartime, it would take a lot of work from the Idrians to collapse it. It definitely could be done though. The economy doesn't seem quite as diversified as economies in our world. Also, a lot of their economy depends on international trade across the inner sea which might be interrupted during a war. In the U.S. we trade with other countries, but we also trade within our country so we could still be okay if all international trade got shut down.

[Brgst13]

I would say that yes, their economy is stable.  Much as the trade in Tyrrhenian purple (spelling?) propped up the Phoenecian economy, so can the Tears of Edgli people up Hallendran.  In addition, these dyes have significance beyond just coloring cloth, as they are an excellent source for Awakening.  As someone suggested earlier, this moves them into the military realm.  The economy is clearly strong, as they can afford to house the Court of the Gods and its inhabitants in an insane level of luxury.