Economy in the World of Avatar

All four nations in the world have, or previously had, economic systems. Of those four, the Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation have developed sophisticated and advanced economic systems to facilitate and supplement their daily life. The Air Nomads and the Water Tribes, however, utilized smaller systems based on subsistence and made less impact on their surroundings.
Most nations also developed basic currency based on precious metals. The currency of most nations can be used in others, though there are many areas that do not observe this.
== Air Nomads ==
The Air Nomads practiced subsistence agriculture, growing enough food and crafting enough of the necessary implements to sustain their own survival without the need to trade with others. Industrialization was also largely neglected, as they did not want to damage the natural world. The Air Nomads viewed worldly prosperity as inhibiting one's spiritual growth and detachment from the world. This meant that there was no class of wealthy elite among the Air Nomads.Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game. Core Book, Version 1.0, 2022, p. 50.
The air temples had administrative groups to handle logistics and finance when the Air Nomads were forced to deal with the material world. Monk Jinpa served as head of administration at the Southern Air Temple in 296 BG before being appointed as the personal secretary of Avatar Kyoshi.
== Water Tribe ==
The Northern Water Tribe has been prosperous for most of its history, with Agna Qel'a traditionally being open to trade with all other nations. The people of the North generally had a high standard of living, and its royalty and nobility have been able to live in luxury.Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game. Core Book, Version 1.0, 2022, p. 42. The prosperity of the Southern Water Tribe has fluctuated to a greater degree throughout its history. It suffered from poverty when piracy was rampant in their waters while the Fifth Nation roamed the nearby seas, though recovered later in its history, only to be almost completely devastated by Fire Nation raids during the Hundred Year War.
The Water Tribes are inherently dependent upon the oceans for a majority of their natural resources and well as the bounty of the frozen tundra. Sea prunes are a favorite, while giant sea crabs are considered a delicious delicacy to those in the Northern Sea. Squid and seaweed can be used to make a wide variety of dishes, including soup, seasoning, and even bread and cookies. Skins from seals are used to create tents, while pelts from furry animals are used as clothing and to cover barren surfaces. Naturally, hunters and fishermen of the Water Tribes are some of the best in the world in their field. Ivory and hides are valuable exports. Art and textiles are also traditionally important in global trade, and Water Tribe artwork was very influential in the Earth Kingdom.Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game. Core Book, Version 1.0, 2022, p. 52.
Since the end of the Hundred Year War, the Water Tribe economy has expanded and diversified even more, leveraging their maritime skills to become a leading force in the international shipping industry. Varrick Global Industries, one of the world's largest corporations, was founded in the Southern Water Tribe. The Southern Water Tribe's post-war growth was aided by the Southern Reconstruction Project and Fire Nation reparations, but another large factor was the discovery of crude oil in the South Pole, which soon became an extremely important fuel source.
One of the most prevalent natural resources of the Northern Water Tribe is ice. Ice is used as the main building material of buildings, walls, dikes, locks, and other structures, as it is a medium of their bending. Icebending is their primary form of construction.
The Water Tribe does have a form of currency, commonly referred to as Water Tribe money by other nations.
== Earth Kingdom ==
The Earth Kingdom has a vast economy primarily based on agriculture, incorporating significant industrial elements as well. Multiple industries, including trade, mining, farming, and hunting, are all important activities for the economy of the nation. Despite maintaining a rural character in many areas, its vast supply of natural resources and large population have allowed it to become one of the world's most powerful economies, despite high rates of poverty. 
During the periods of corruption and exploitation from daofei, the remote villages of the Earth Kingdom were very vulnerable, as they held little importance to the Earth Kingdom's economy and were therefore not protected.Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game. Core Book, Version 1.0, 2022, p. 36. One of the longest continuous periods of economic prosperity occurred during the later life of Avatar Kyoshi, who used the Earth Kingdom's new constitution to forge ties between the constituent states, and implement policies that could uplift the poorest in society.Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game. Core Book, Version 1.0, 2022, p. 54. While the Earth Sages attempted to maintain this state of affairs after her death, they were purged by Earth King Jialun, who returned the Earth Kingdom to a state of corruption, with government officials wanting to enrich themselves rather than build a sustainable economy. 
Poverty was also rife during the destructive Hundred Year War; the Fire Nation charged heavy taxes on occupied parts of the kingdom, resulting in a decline in wealth among its populace. In the post-war period, the Earth Kingdom received war reparations from the Fire Nation,Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game. Core Book, Version 1.0, 2022, p. 70. and many towns and villages began to rebuild, but sometimes the power vacuum led to new issues. The Lower Ring of Ba Sing Se remained impoverished, and the divide between rich and poor was very strong during the reign of Earth Queen Hou-Ting. After her assassination at the hands of Zaheer of the Red Lotus, the Earth Kingdom went through a period of extreme chaos, followed by the formation of the Earth Empire, who surrendered after a failed invasion of the United Republic, though later had a brief resurgence. This left the poorest villages of the Earth Kingdom economically devastated once more, and there were concerns about corrupt local officials taking advantage of such poverty during the Earth Kingdom's transition to democracy.Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game. Core Book, Version 1.0, 2022, p. 81.
The Earth Kingdom has a large system of commerce and trade. The west coast of the country is especially notable as an economic center, as it features many ports; the seedy merchants pier, in particular, was important as a hub for pirates and the black market prior to becoming United Republic of Nations territory. Earth Kingdom shops and stores sell a variety of products, which may conform to the specific culture and resources of the region. The complex postal system of Omashu, the efficient Ba Sing Se monorail network, and various inventions and their inventors, such as the mechanist, all serve as indicators of the Earth Kingdom's sophisticated economy. High finance has been present in the Earth Kingdom since at least the early era of Yangchen, with the shang merchants of Bin-Er making use of extensive debt and credit agreements. Financial services continued to be prominent in the economy during the era of Kyoshi, when Lu Beifong was known as a man who banked with most of the Earth Kingdom.
In the aftermath of the Hundred Year War, the Kingdom's mineral wealth became more pronounced as the industrialization process began to take effect around the world, making the country's rich ore deposits one of its most sought after exports. 
Just as the Water Tribe's primary building material is ice, the Earth Kingdom's primary building material is rock. Much of the infrastructure, including buildings, sewers, and even trains, are made of stone and often constructed by earthbending.
=== Currency ===
Earth Kingdom coins are mostly round, and all have a square hole in their center which allows them to be strung together, representing the national emblem. There is no significant difference between copper and silver pieces; gold pieces, however, have four notches on their edge, giving them a flower-like shape.
== Fire Nation ==
The Fire Nation is one of the strongest economies in the world. However, some areas were adversely affected by their country's decision-making: Jang Hui, for example, fell into poverty when the Fire Nation built a smelting factory on the town's river; almost no nourishment was available for the village's residents, and many people may have starved. 
The economy is based on agriculture, fishing, industry, and technology. The Fire Nation was the first nation to truly industrialize, and was able to achieve a centralized government under the Fire Lord. Technological progress led to the establishment of completely new industries that created jobs for hundreds of people, while the political cohesion in the Fire Nation meant that policy could be enacted to improve the quality of life of everyone in the Fire Nation.Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game. Core Book, Version 1.0, 2022, p. 48. The Fire Nation also has many prominent companies, and there were instances of goods and services being outsourced to privately owned businesses during the Hundred Year War.Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game. Wan Shi Tong's Adventure Guide, Version 1.0, 2022, p. 148.
The Fire Nation employs skilled metalworkers and blacksmiths who make use of iron and other metals to engender their fortresses and warships. They are able to power massive furnaces, primarily powered by coal. The Fire Nation's quest for raw materials and natural resources from across the world for their new technologies was a contributing factor to the rise of nationalism, and the rise of expansionist sentiment. After the war, the Fire Nation realized that much of its recent economic progress had come from the exploitation of other nations, and sought to make amends by paying reparations to the other nations affected by their actions.
=== Currency ===
Fire Nation coins are much more angular than their Earth Kingdom counterparts. They vary according to weight, size, and shape, though all have a nationalistic image on the reverse side and writing on the obverse. The copper piece is the least valuable and is a square with two concave sides. In its center is an image of a small flame. The gold piece is the longest and is mostly rectangular in shape with a long slit running from its base to a little below the top. The silver piece is the smallest and pentagonal in shape with the national emblem on one of its faces.
== United Republic of Nations ==
Although the Fire Nation previously had the strongest economy in the world, Fire Lord Zuko and Avatar Aang created this nation after the Hundred Year War as a place where benders and nonbenders would live in peace. Eventually, its capital, Republic City, boomed and the economy began to strengthen significantly.
The economy of the United Republic's capital, Republic City, is primarily based upon heavy industry. Establishment politicians often side with factory owners over anyone whose interests conflict with them, as they are well aware that Republic City would quickly lose money without manufacturing.Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game. Republic City, Version 1.0, 2023, p. 48. In the city, rather than the traditional currency used in the other four nations, the yuan is the used currency.
In the decades after the birth of the United Republic, the world saw a new economic phenomenon in the rise of corporations: giant international companies which provide goods and services across the globe. The new economic age meant that people could get things faster than ever, and corporations began to use their resources to make sure that things got there faster than their competitors. Many of the world's largest corporations are based in the United Republic, such as Varrick Global Industries, Future Industries, Keum Enterprises, Cabbage Corp, and the San Ho Consortium, as well as many competitive startups such as Dyo Motors.Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game. Republic City, Version 1.0, 2023, p. 24. Some news sources speculate that the rise of conglomerates may mean the death of local business.Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game. Core Book, Version 1.0, 2022, p. 85. Corporate entities have become even more influential as they hold many of Republic City's debts in light of the troubles of the early 170s AG.
Corporations have essentially bailed out the city on several occasions, such as Future Industries' extensive redesigning of the capital's infrastructure after the Spirit Wilds began to appear in the city.Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game. Republic City, Version 1.0, 2023, p. 20.
The United Republic's economy is especially dependent on high finance. Many large companies are publicly traded on the stock market, and negative press about a certain company can cause its shares to drop, posing a considerable threat to the business.Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game. Republic City, Version 1.0, 2023, p. 27 This is also true of smaller businesses to a lesser extent.Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game. Republic City, Version 1.0, 2023, p. 34.
== References ==
fr:Économie dans le Monde d'Avatar
ru:Экономика
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Category:World of Avatar