Economics is much more than just numbers and graphs. In fact, we can use economics to explain much of what we encounter in our daily lives. For instance, why is customer service at your local restaurant usually better than that of the cable company? To find the answer we can take a closer look at the incentives at play. For another example, we look to eighteenth century Great Britain. What did bad incentives have to do with the death rate of prisoners shipped from England to Australia? Let’s find out together in this first video of MRU’s course on Principles of Economics: Microeconomics.
Learn why everyone can benefit from studying economics. What can economics tell you about your world? Check out this fun series with some of our best videos.
Economics is much more than just numbers and graphs. In fact, we can use economics to explain much of what we encounter in our daily lives. For instance, why is customer service at your local resta...
In this series, Professor Don Boudreaux explores the question economists have been asking since the era of Adam Smith -- what creates wealth? On a timeline of human history, the recent rise in stan...
A very poor country turned modern economy, China is now facing economic hardship. How did this happen? What led to its astonishing economic growth and what’s fueling its current woes? Join Tyler Co...
How is it that people in snowy, chilly cities have access to beautiful, fresh roses every February on Valentine’s Day? The answer lies in how the invisible hand helps coordinate economic activity, ...
Join Professor Tabarrok in exploring the mystery and marvel of prices. We take a look at how oil prices signal the scarcity of oil and the value of its alternative uses. Following up on our previou...
If you had to choose, would you rather be a sewer inspector spending your days underground or a lifeguard on the beach? Most would say that being a lifeguard is a more fun job, but a sewer inspecto...
While the probability of an asteroid hitting the planet is very low, its effect would be disastrous for all of us. So, who should pay for asteroid protection? A good like asteroid defense — a publi...
There’s already been much discussion over what fueled the Great Recession of 2008. In this video, Tyler Cowen focuses on a central theme of the crisis: the failure of financial intermediaries.
First, that there can be large disparities in economic wealth among different countries. And second, you learned that one key factor drives that dispar...
Welcome to Principles of Economics! By joining this course, you’ll be exposed to the economic way of thinking. That is, you’ll understand how to use economics in your life and, ultimately, you’ll see the world differently. We’ll cover fundamental concepts like supply and demand and equilibrium, We’ll also answer questions such as: How are prices determined? What did Adam Smith mean when he said the market process works like an “invisible hand”? How is it that we have access to fresh roses in very chilly cities every February on Valentine’s Day? We will cover all the key topics including competition, monopoly, price discrimination, externalities, public goods and more. There are no prerequisites to this course and we will answer your questions along the way. Let’s dive in!
In this course, following MRU's Principles of Microeconomics course, you’ll continue to explore the economic way of thinking and the role of incentives in all of our lives.
We’ll cover fundamental questions such as: Why do some countries grow rich while others remain poor? How important is a country’s banking system — and what happened during the recent financial crisis? How did Zimbabwe end up with an inflation rate that rose into the quadrillions?
We’ll also cover important topics like the Federal Reserve, monetary policy, fiscal policy, the Solow Growth Model, institutional analysis, the “economics of ideas,” and more.