By the end of this section, you will be able to:

Explain the Phillips curve, noting its impact on the theories of Keynesian economics
Graph a Phillips curve
Identify factors that cause the instability of the Phillips curve
Analyze the Keynesian policy for reducing unemployment and inflation

With this free video resource, students will explore the economic way of thinking, and the role incentives play in all our lives through engaging Hollywood production style videos.

Educators can use MRU's videos in a variety of ways, to include “flipping” the classroom, as study aids, supplementary material, concept reinforcement, or even as a full course offering.

In MRU's Principles of Macroeconomics course, 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.

------------------------------------

What is Marginal Revolution University (MRU)?

Many of us can remember our first great economics teacher who fundamentally changed how we see the world. At MRU, we try and deliver that experience to millions worldwide through video.

Founded as a nonprofit in 2012 by George Mason University economics professors Tyler Cowen and Alex Tabarrok, MRU is building the world’s largest online library of free economics education videos -- currently weighing in at more than 800 videos.

14.01 Principles of Microeconomics is an introductory undergraduate course that teaches the fundamentals of microeconomics. This course introduces microeconomic concepts and analysis, supply and demand analysis, theories of the firm and individual behavior, competition and monopoly, and welfare economics. Students will also be introduced to the use of microeconomic applications to address problems in current economic policy throughout the semester.
This course is a core subject in MIT’s undergraduate Energy Studies Minor. This Institute-wide program complements the deep expertise obtained in any major with a broad understanding of the interlinked realms of science, technology, and social sciences as they relate to energy and associated environmental challenges.
Course Format
This course has been designed for independent study. It includes all of the materials you will need to understand the concepts covered in this subject. The materials in this course include:

A complete set of Lecture Videos by Prof. Jon Gruber.
Reading Assignments in your choice of two textbooks – one of which is a free online edition - as preparation for the lectures.
Multiple-choice Quizzes to assess your understanding of the key concepts in each session.
Problem Sets with solution keys to test your ability to apply to concepts covered in lecture, and Problem Solving Videos to provide step-by-step instruction through several problem set solutions.
A collection of links For Further Study to provide supplemental online content.
A full set of Exams, including review material and practice exams to help you prepare.

Data source updated on quarterly basis to assess commodity price changes in different sectors and as an aggregate.

This course covers techniques of financial analysis of investment expenditures as well as the economic and distributive appraisal of those projects. The course gives special consideration to cases in the developing world. Students will engage in a critical analysis of these tools and their role in the political economy of international development. The course will cover topics such as alternative planning strategies for conditions of uncertainty; organizations and project cycle management; the political environment; and interactions of clients and advisers, engineers, planners, policy analysts, and other professionals.
Introductory micro-economics is a pre-requisite for this course.

The "quantum" of economics is the optimizing individual. All of economics ultimately boils down to the behavior of such individuals. Microeconomics studies their basic actions and interactions: individual markets, supply and demand, the impact of taxes, monopoly, etc. Macroeconomics then lumps together these individual markets to study national and international issues. In structure this book—which covers only microeconomics—is not unlike a hiking trip. We start out by putting our boots on and getting our gear together: in Part I we study the optimizing individual. Then we set out on our path and immediately find ourselves hacking through some pretty thick jungle: even simple interactions between just two people (Part II) can be very complicated! As we add even more people (in studying auctions, for example), things get even more complicated, and the jungle gets even thicker. Then a miracle occurs: we add even more people, and a complex situation suddenly becomes simple. After hacking through thick jungle, we find ourselves in a beautiful clearing: competitive markets (Part III) are remarkably easy to analyze and understand.

The Right Start in Teaching Economics lessons were designed for those new to teaching economics Đ even if not new to teaching! An excellent review or refresher if college economics courses have become a distant memory, Right Start lessons help teachers enter the classroom with renewed confidence in their own understanding of economic reasoning.

Inflation has been on many people’s minds. There are several measures of inflation available, and each one plays a role in providing a more complete understanding of inflation’s causes and effects. This Page One Economics® Econ Primer describes key measures of inflation, including the consumer price index, and how the Federal Open Market Committee pays particular attention to these measures as it makes policy decisions—adjusting its policy stance when necessary to move the economy toward maximum employment and price stability.

How a supply shock can cause prices to rise and the economy to stagnate. Created by Sal Khan.

Students participate in two auctions: The goods in each auction are identical, but the amount of money given to students increases from the first to the second auction. Students learn that if spending grows at a faster rate than the economy’s ability to produce goods and services, inflation will result. This is inflation caused by “too much spending chasing too few goods.”

This readings-based course analyzes the structure and operation of government systems in developing countries, with particular emphasis on regional and local governments. Major topics include: the role of decentralization in national economic reform programs, the potential impact of decentralized governments on local economic development, determination of optimal arrangements for sharing fiscal responsibilities among levels of government, evaluation of local revenue and expenditure decisions, and assessment of prospects and options for intergovernmental fiscal reform. Emphasis is on basic economic concerns, with consideration given to political, institutional, and cultural factors.

Learn the definition of inflation and how inflation is measured in this video. Topics include the meaning of inflation, causes of inflation, and how the consumer price index (CPI) is used to track inflation. Created by Sal Khan.

Does it feel like your dollars go as far as they used to? If not, how does that mesh when reports say inflation rates are lower than average? The October 2015 issue of Page One Economics explains the disconnect between what you might experience as a consumer and what the data show.

This video on inflation will aid in the mastery of standard EPF. 5 (b)(d) and EPF. 7 (b) as it explains why governments sometimes choose to create inflation within their economy. This video is approximately 8 minutes long.

Unexpected inflation or deflation takes wealth away from one group and gives it to another group. This video talks about the winners and losers from inflation and deflation.

Historically, money was made of either valuable commodities such as gold or silver coins or pieces of paper (bills) representing these commodities. The United States severed its last official monetary link to gold in 1971. The January 2015 Page One Economics Newsletter describes some of the advantages and disadvantages of the gold standard.