By Jonathan M. Harris The year 2023 was the hottest year in recorded history, and 2024 is on track to be even hotter. Record high temperatures have been observed on land, in the oceans and in Antarctica. Global concentrations of major greenhouse gases climbed to their highest levels ever. Huge losses of ice were recorded […]
By Pratistha Joshi Rajkarnikar The Economics in Context Initiative (ECI) has developed a series of teaching modules on various environmental and social issues in economics with the goal of advancing the teaching of economics to make it more relevant to understand real-world issues. These modules are grounded in reliable analysis of the world and the […]
By Brian Roach Standard economic theory fails to address the economic and political significance of modern multinational corporations. In this module, explanations of firm growth based on economies of scale and scope are supplemented with a discussion of the transnational mobility and influence of large corporations. The social and environmental responsibilities of multinationals are considered, […]
By June Sekera This module offers a framework for understanding “public goods” as a concept in economics and as real-world goods and services. The framework builds on the “historical school” public economics theory. The module provides a pragmatic understanding of public goods, enabling students with or without a background in economics to consider and appreciate […]
By Nathan Perry Debt and deficits have been a major news topic, and the source of much economic and political controversy. This module reviews the essentials of budgets, the history of surpluses and deficits, and the role of the national debt providing students with an in-depth insights into the issue of government debt. The module […]
By Brian Roach Tax policy is one of the most debated, and often misunderstood, issues in politics and economics. This module provides students with critical tools to understand how taxes work and how they are essential for the government’s functioning. It introduces the US tax system, including the historical development of tax policies, and then presents […]
By Anastasia C. Wilson This module critically examines the assumptions of rationality in the neoclassical model and presents an in-depth discussion of behavioral economics and its applications to fields, such as economic development, social and economic inequality, financial instability, and climate change and environmental sustainability. A basic toolkit of concepts, insights and methods from behavioral […]
By Alejandro Reuss This module presents an overview of economic class, class power and class conflict. It addresses some aspects of economic power in capitalist societies today, highlighting relations that are not considered “power relations” in mainstream economics. It explores the unequal power relations between different economic classes in the workplace and the political sphere, […]
This module introduces the study of comparative economic systems, which is concerned with analyzing differences in economic institutions across societies. It defines different types of economic systems, considering how economic decisions are made and who owns productive assets. The two main types of economic systems—capitalism and socialism—are discussed in some detail along with the historical […]
By Brian Roach, Pratistha Joshi Rajkarnikar, Neva Goodwin and Jonathan M. Harris This module, based on Chapter 10 of Microeconomics in Context, 5th edition, provides an overview of some of the key issues on economic and social inequality, looking beyond income measures to explore inequalities based on education, health care and discrimination in the labor market. […]