Many people love a roller coaster’s thrilling ups and downs. When it comes to the economy, however, most people would prefer to avoid a wild ride. In fact, most like a smooth ride with very few dips. This episode of The Economic Lowdown podcast series describes how the economy moves through phases of the business cycle, and the role the Federal Reserve System plays in smoothing some of the ride's bumps.

In this video (8 minutes long) students will see an example of the circular flow chart and how the parts of it interact and are interdependent on each other. This video will aid in the mastery of standard EPF. 2(j).

“There’s no such thing as a free lunch.” Maybe you’ve heard that before. Or you’ve even said it. If so, you probably know it means that everything has a cost. Businesses are especially aware of costs because costs affect profits, and without profits a business might not survive. This episode of The Economic Lowdown podcast series describes how businesses consider costs when making decisions – including about whether to shut down.

This is a 7 minute video that is part of the FED of St. Louis' Economic Lowdown series that explains the Law of Demand, the graph shape and what contributes to the changes in demand. This video will cover the standard EPF. 3(a)

Teachers may also find accompanying handouts at https://www.econlowdown.org/

How elastic are rubber bands? There's more than one way to answer this question. The word "elasticity" is commonly used to describe things that have a stretchy quality to them. You might try to answer the question by stretching a rubber band across your finger and shooting it across the room. To an economist, however, elasticity can have a whole other meaning. Learn more in this episode of The Economic Lowdown.

This is a 5 minute video that will explain the how the Laws of Demand and Supply will interact to form equilibrium point on a graph. This video will meet the standard EPF.3 (b)

Teachers may find accompanying handouts for this video and others that are part of this series at https://www.econlowdown.org/

In this video (6 minutes long) students will learn about how externalities can affect supply, demand and ultimately equilibrium. This video will aid in review of standard EFP. 3 since students will see how a supply and demand graph can shift as a result of costs / benefits of externalities.

“Recession” is one of the scariest words in economics. The loss of jobs and income can have lasting impacts on people’s lives. How does the economy get back on track when it’s off course? In this episode of The Economic Lowdown podcast series, you’ll learn about how the government uses fiscal policy to influence the economy.

GDP and Pizza: Economics for Life is designed to help students in civics, economics and other social studies classes grasp challenging economic content – and to explain why these topics are important for citizens to understand.

In this course, superhero Jack of All Trades and his sidekick Andy are confronted by a villain that threatens to disrupt society and rob the world of the certainty people have come to expect. And this dastardly villain is...Inflation. Jack and Andy time travel to the period known as The Great Inflation to discover the truth about inflation. With the help of Dr. Equilibrium, professor of economics, they learn that inflation is the result of too much money chasing too few goods and that the Federal Reserve System plays a key role in maintaining stable prices.

In this video (8 minutes long) students will learn about the factors that make up the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and what impact and significance the GDP has on our economy and economies around the world. This video will aid in the mastery of EPF. 5(a).

In this lesson, students participate in a simulation using the idea of herd immunization to investigate the concept of positive externalities related to market failure and the role of government. The lesson also introduces the concept of negative externalities.

In this 5 minute video, students will examine what inflation is and how it can affect consumers and producers. This video will aid in mastery of standard EPF. 5 (b)

This is a 5 minute video that covers the labor market and what factors contribute to the laws of supply and demand to determine the amount of labor employed and wages. This video will meet standard EPF.4 with a review of EPF. 2(a) and (F) and EPF. 3(a)

When it comes to the U.S. economy, the Federal Reserve has a very important role to play. Whether you realize it or not, its decisions affect you. In this episode of The Economic Lowdown podcast series, you’ll learn about how the Federal Reserve uses monetary policy to influence the economy.

Inflation, unemployment, recession, economic growth—these economic concepts affect people in very real ways. In this course containing three interactive, thought-provoking lessons, you will learn about monetary policy, the avenue by which the Federal Reserve System attempts to influence the economy.

In segment 1 of this 3 part series, student will learn about the production possibilities frontier (PPF), scarcity and opportunity cost. This video is 5 minutes long and will aid in the mastery of standard EPF. 1(a).

In segment 2 of the 3 part series on the Production Possibilities Frontier, this 5 minute video provides information on the factors of production, scarcity, opportunity cost and productivity. It will aid in mastery of standard EPF. 1 (a) and (d).

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.

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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.

With this free video resource, students will be exposed to the economic way of thinking. Students will understand how to use economics in their lives and, ultimately, you’ll see the world differently-- all 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 Microeconomics course, covers fundamental concepts like supply and demand and equilibrium. We 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 cold cities every Valentine’s Day? All key topics are covered to include competition, monopoly, price discrimination, externalities, public goods and more.

There are no prerequisites for this course, and it is accessible to beginners.

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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.