Crash Course: Economics

In which Jacob Clifford and Adriene Hill launch a brand new Crash Course on Economics! So what is economics? Good question. It's not necessarily about money or stock markets or trade. It's about people and choices. What you may ask does that mean. We'll show you. Let's get started!

In which Adriene Hill and Jacob Clifford teach you about specialization and trade and how countries decide whether they're going to make stuff or trade for stuff. You'll learn about things like comparative advantage the production possibilities frontier and how to make pizza!

In which Jacob Clifford and Adriene Hill teach you about Economic Systems and Macroeconomics. So economics is basically about choices. We'll look at some of the broadest economic choices when we talk about the difference between planned economies and market economies.

In which Adriene Hill and Jacob Clifford teach you about one of the fundamental economic ideas supply and demand. What is supply and demand?

This week Adriene and Jacob teach you about macroeconomics. This is the stuff of big picture economics and the major movers in the economy. Like taxes and monetary policy and inflation and policy.

Why are some countries rich? Why are some countries poor? In the end it comes down to Productivity. This week on Crash Course Econ Adriene and Jacob investigate just why some economies are more productive than others and what happens when an economy is more productive.

In which Adriene and Jacob teach you about how and why prices rise. Sometimes prices rise as a result of inflation which is a pretty normal thing for economies to do. We'll talk about how across the board prices rise over time and how economists track inflation.

In which Jacob and Adriene teach you about the evils of fiscal policy and stimulus. Well maybe the policies aren't evil but there is an evil lair involved. In this episode we learn how government uses taxes and spending to influence the economy.

What is debt? What is a deficit? And do these things have different outcomes for individuals and nations? Adriene and Jacob answer all these questions and more on this week's Crash Course Econ.

This week on Crash Course Economics we're talking about monetary policy. The reality of the world is that the United States (and most of the world's economies) are to varying degrees Keynesian.

So we've been putting off a kind of basic question here. What is money? What is currency? How are the two different. Well not to give away too much but money has a few basic functions. It acts as a store of value a medium of exchange and as a unit of account.

Today on Crash Course Economics Adriene and Jacob talk about the 2008 financial crisis and the US Government's response to the troubles. So all this starts with home mortgages and the use of mortgages as an investment instrument. For years it seemed like the US housing market would go up and up.

In the world as it exists today continued growth is the only path to viability. While some argue for sustainability or even controlled recession you're not going to keep a job as head of central bank thinking like that in this day and age.

We talk a lot about Keynesian economics on this show pretty much because the real world currently runs on Keynesian principles. That said there are some other economic ideas out there and today we're going to talk about a few of them.

What is a trade deficit? Well it all has to do with imports and exports and well trade. This week Jacob and Adriene walk you through the basics of imports exports and exchange.

What is globalization? Is globalization a good thing or not. Well I have an answer that may not surprise you: It's complicated. This week Jacob and Adriene will argue that globalization is in aggregate good.

Inequality is a big big subject. There's racial inequality gender inequality and lots and lots of other kinds of inequality. This is Econ so we're going to talk about wealth inequality and income inequality.

This week Jacob and Adriene teach you about marginal analysis which you're using RIGHT NOW! The video is coming from inside the house! Or something. You'll learn how marginal analysis guides the decision-making of cities nations companies and amusement park enthusiasts.

Adriene and Jacob teach you all about markets. So in free market(ish) economies like the United States and most of the world markets are a big deal. Markets work to produce the stuff that consumers want and that society needs.

So during times of inflation or deflation why doesn't the government just set prices? It sounds reasonable but price ceilings or floors just don't work. Adriene and Jacob explain why. Subsidies however are a little different and sometimes they even work.

This week on Crash Course Econ Jacob and Adriene are talking about failure. Specifically we're talking about market failures. When markets don't provide a good or service efficiently that's a market failure. When markets fail often governments step in to provide those services.

So if economics is about choices and how we use our resources econ probably has a lot to say about the environment right? Right! In simple terms pollution is just a market failure. The market is producing more pollution than society wants.

How does education work? Where does the money come from? Who pays for it? Is going to college a good investment? Adriene and Jacob are talking today about the economics of education.

How do companies make money? What are profits? Revenues? How are prices set? This week Jacob and Adriene are talking business. Whether you're selling cars pizza or glow sticks this video has pretty much all the information you need to run a business.

What is a monopoly? It turns out it's more than just a board game. It's a terrible terrible economic practice in which giant corporations dominate markets and hurt consumers. Except when it isn't. In some industries monopolies are the most efficient way to do business.