Market failure: externalities
This program looks at the problem of public good associated with a dramatic spillover, and examines the beneficial and detrimental externalities associated with a less extensive spillover. The program also looks at how pollution, a classic example o...
Growth and development
This program looks at how growth in the standard of living occurs and what government policy can do to affect this process. Among the concepts explained in the program is how growth policy differs from stabilization policy.
Pitfalls in stabilization policy
This program discusses monetary and fiscal policy for a large economy. Some key topics are the crowding-out effect, the short-run trade-off between inflation and unemployment, and how stabilization policies with long lags can affect business cycles.
Competition versus central planning
This program develops the short-run supply curve for a competitive industry and shows what determines long-run equilibrium in a competitive economy. The program provides a detailed account of "the invisible hand," and identifies some of the desirabl...
Interest rates and exchange rates
By combining the supply and demand of money, this program demonstrates how interest rates are determined. The program also examines flexible and fixed exchange rates and looks at how monetary policy works in large and small economies.
Supply and demand
This program explains how economists use elasticity to measure how demand responds to price. The program also discusses factors that cause shifts in supply and demand and how "the invisible hand" works in free markets and what happens when price con...
Supply theory: the behavior of profit-maximizing firms
This program examines the theory of the firm, which is based on the assumption of profit maximization. The program explains the optimal hiring rule and the optimal output decision, and explores several methods of illustrating a firm's revenue and co...
Stabilization policy for a small open economy
This program analyzes a small, open economy, such as Canada's, where financial markets are integrated with world financial markets. The program shows that the interest rate of a small, open economy is determined by the rest of the world, and looks a...