Teaches Economics and Society

Paul Krugman

Meet your new instructor: Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman. Paul will cover many of the issues you see in the headlines everyday—and provide tools to help you make sense of it all.

Introduction

Paul believes that at its heart, economics is about people—how they earn a living and how they spend their income.

What Is Economics?

First—people respond to incentives. Second—each transaction has an equal give and take. Paul breaks down economic thinking into two main principles and teaches you the intricacies of each.

Two Fundamental Principles of Economics

Paul walks you through the history of economic thought through the theories of Adam Smith and John Maynard Keynes to make an important point—you have to understand the past to improve the future.

Major Developments in Economic Thought

Learn how the Federal Reserve works to keep the economy healthy, and about the theoretical framework it uses to inform its decisions.

Understanding Macroeconomics: The Fed and IS-LM (Wonkish)

Learn about the market patterns and unregulated financial activities that led to our worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, and how to prepare yourself for the uncertain economic future.

How ‘08 Happened

Learn how these concepts played out in Japan's 1998 crash and the 2008 recession in the US.

The Economic Theory of Crises

Paul details monetary solutions vs. fiscal solutions, how to rethink deficit spending, and what to do to brace for the next crisis.

Economic Solutions to Crises

The growing income gap poses a danger to the well-being of our economy. Learn the history of economic inequality, how race is always related, and the economic effects of growing up boomer vs. growing up millennial.

Inequality: The Growing Gap

Learn the social and cultural costs of our inequality, and ways to advocate for a more equal society.

Inequality: Our Divided Society

Paul explores the data behind “supply side” taxation, the potential impact of the 2017 tax cuts, and how the American tax plan affects each of us.

Understanding Taxes

Learn the impact of technological expansion on the job market, the economy as a whole, and on the individual citizen.

The Economics of Technological Progress

Health care is central to American lives and the American economy. Paul breaks down the economics of the private health care market and explains two “market killers” in our current system.

Health Care: The Problems

Using examples from health care systems in the UK, Canada, and Switzerland, Paul examines three approaches to universal healthcare, noting the positives and challenges of each.

Health Care: The Solutions

Through a discussion of his Nobel Prize-winning idea, the New Trade Theory, Paul explains the history and continued impact of trade on the economy.

Theories of Trade (Wonkish)

Globalization has forever changed the way we communicate and do business. Paul discusses the transformative technologies that led to efficient global trade and the impact of those developments on our country’s economy.

Understanding the Hyperglobalized World

Paul explains China’s rapid economic growth and details how the influx of their exported goods impact economies and rules of trade worldwide.

China: The Disruptive Miracle

Through the example of Silicon Valley, Paul illustrates how economics can even control the geographic movement of people.

Economic Geography

Paul teaches you how to read and interpret developing economic issues in order to stay informed. Learn his personal tools and techniques for spotting critical, accurate information in breaking news.

Reading Economics

For Paul, being an economist requires thinking critically and learning from others. Learn his critical thinking methodology, like how to look for natural experiments, think past your own bias, and use the information at your fingertips.

Seeing the World Like an Economist

Using his column “Myths of Austerity,” Paul demonstrates how he uses language, current events, and more to break down a complex topic while keeping the reader informed and engaged.

Writing Economics

Paul ends his class with parting advice for aspiring activists and policy makers, or those who wish to become more informed citizens: remember to stay aware, to read, to listen, and to remain an active participant in society.

Closing