There are two economists taking a walk in the forest. As they walk along, they spot a pile of feces on the ground.

The first economist suddenly gets an idea and says to the second: "If you dare eat this pile of shit, I'll give you 100 yuan." The second economist thinks, why not earn this easy money, so he steels himself and eats it. The first economist is quite straightforward and pulls out 100 yuan to pay him.

The two continue walking, and shortly after, they spot another pile of feces. The second economist feels a sense of unfairness, so he says to the first: "If you dare eat this pile too, I'll also give you 100 yuan." The first economist is still upset about losing that 100 yuan, so without hesitation he eats it too. The second economist gives back the 100 yuan he had just earned to the first economist.

After walking for a while, the more the two think about it, the more something seems off. One of them can't help but exclaim: "Wait a minute, the amount of money in our pockets hasn't changed at all, yet we've each eaten a pile of shit! What was the point of all this?"

The other economist, however, looks excited: "Ah, you can't look at it that way! You see, we just created 200 yuan of GDP!"