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Marx’s theory of the falling rate of profit is not only empirically borne out, but the theory he proposed seems to describe accurately how that happens. Furthermore, the whole process is useful for understanding the history of contemporary capitalism. 2020 Level: beginner On the Rate of Profit Cahal Moran Rethinking Economics This course provides an introduction into the basic concepts of mainstream macroeconomics, including supply and demand in a competitive market, to all the usual introductory macroeconomic topics, and also to both international trade and the Foreign Exchange Market. Level: beginner AP® Macroeconomics Clark Ross Davidson Next This MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) discusses Global Workers’ Rights and shows instruments and strategies which can be used to implement them. Level: beginner Workers' Rights in a Global Economy Paul Whitehead; Mark Anner; Mark Anner; Stefanie Lorenzen; Fernando Lopes; Michael Fichter; Frank Hoffer; Victor Hugo Ricco; Camilo Rubiano; Christoph Scherrer; Ben Scully; Beatriz Vacotto; Beatriz Vacotto Global Labour University This course seeks to interpret capitalism using ideas from biological evolution. The lectures are foundational on neoclassical economics and economist, as well as their roles in the proliferation of capitalist ideology. However, it is less concerned with the ultimate judgment of capitalism than with the ways it can be shaped to fit more specific objectives. Level: advanced Capitalism: Success, Crisis, and Reform Prof. Douglas W. Rae Yale University This course provides an introduction to the ILO’s Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy (MNE Declaration). The course uses real cases related to labour and employment issues as examples of how the MNE Declaration is used in practice or as guidance. 2019 Level: beginner ILO - An introduction to the MNE Declaration ILO n.a. One of the pluralist theories which has gained prominence following the 2008 financial crisis is Hyman Minsky and his Financial Instability Hypothesis (FIH). Minsky was unique in viewing balance sheets and financial flows as the primary components of capitalist economies, and his focus on the financial system meant he was well-equipped for foresee a crisis much like 2008. Although he died long before 2008 his framework anticipated many of the processes which led to the crash, particularly increased risk-taking and financial innovation which would outstrip the abilities of regulators and central banks to manage the system. 2020 Level: beginner Minsky’s Moments Cahal Moran Rethinking Economics Markets are the focus in modern economics: when they work, when they don’t and what we can or can’t do about it. There are many ways to study markets and how we do so will inevitably affect our conclusions about them, including policy recommendations which can influence governments and other major organisations. Pluralism can be a vital corrective to enacting real policies based on only one perspective and a plethora of approaches provide alternatives to the canonical view. Although they have differing implications, these approaches share the idea that we should take a historical approach, analysing markets on a case-by-case basis; and they share a faith in the power of both individuals and collectives to overcome the problems encountered when organising economic activity. 2020 Level: beginner Markets, How Do They Work? Cahal Moran Rethinking Economics Environmental catastrophe looms large over politics: from the young person’s climate march to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Green New Deal, increasing amounts of political space are devoted to the issue. Central to this debate is the question of whether economic growth inevitably leads to environmental issues such as depleted finite resources and increased waste, disruption of natural cycles and ecosystems, and of course climate change. Growth is the focal point of the de-growth and zero-growth movements who charge that despite efficiency gains, increased GDP always results in increased use of energy and emissions. On the other side of the debate, advocates of continued growth (largely mainstream economists) believe that technological progress and policies can ‘decouple’ growth from emissions. 2020 Level: beginner To Grow or Not to Grow? Cahal Moran Rethinking Economics This course will cover recent contributions in economic history that, using geospatial data from anthropological maps, colonial archives and secondary sources, will explore current economic and development challenges by drawing parallels between the past and present. 2022 Level: beginner African History through the lens of Economics Elias Papaioannou, Leonard Wantchekon, Stelios Michalopoulos, Nathan Nunn, etc. Online Part I: Basic Economic Problems Is Economics a Science? Is It Useful? (Lawrence Boland, Ian Parker) Is There Such a Thing as a Free Market? (William Watson, Robert Prasch) Part II: Consumers and Firms Is Homo Economicus an Appropriate Representation of Real-World Consumers? (Joseph Persky, Morris Altman) Is the Consumer Sovereign? 2010 Level: advanced Introducing Microeconomic Analysis Hassan Bougrine, Mario Seccareccia, Ian C. Parker Emond Montgomery Publications Designed to give second-year undergraduates an intuitive understanding of basic mathematical techniques, and when and why they are applicable. Building on the traditional framework of calculus, the notion of a concave function is used to link the new algebraic methods with the more familiar graphical approachoand to introduce the modern use of duality in economic analysis. 1984 Level: advanced Mathematics for Modern Economics Chris Birchenhall, Paul Grout P. Allan How countries achieve long-term GDP growth is up there with the most important topics in economics. As Nobel Laureate Robert Lucas put it “the consequences for human welfare involved in questions like these are simply staggering: once one starts to think about them, it is hard to think about anything else.” Ricardo Hausmann et al take a refreshing approach to this question in their Atlas of Economic Complexity. They argue a country’s growth depends on the complexity of its economy: it must have a diverse economy which produces a wide variety of products, including ones that cannot be produced much elsewhere. The Atlas goes into detail on exactly what complexity means, how it fits the data, and what this implies for development. Below I will offer a summary of their arguments, including some cool data visualisations. 2020 Level: beginner GDP Growth: It’s Complicated Cahal Moran Rethinking Economics An essay of the writing workshop on Nigeria’s Readiness for and the Effect of the Fourth Industrial Revolution 2020 Level: advanced The Fourth Industrial Revolution: Economic Impact and Possible Disruptions Emmanuel Obijole Exploring Economics An essay of the writing workshop on Nigeria’s Readiness for and the Effect of the Fourth Industrial Revolution 2020 Level: advanced The Role of Women in the Fourth Industrial Revolution Peter Ogundairo Exploring Economics The Revolution in Corporate Finance has established itself as a key text for students of corporate finance with wide use on a range of courses. Using seminal articles from the highly regarded Bank of America Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, it gives students real insight into the practical implications of the most recent theoretical advances in the field. 2003 Level: advanced The Revolution in Corporate Finance Joel M. Stern, Donald Chew Jr, Jr. Wiley Examine what would happen if we were to deploy blockchain technology at the sovereign level and use it to create a decentralized cashless economy. This book explains how finance and economics work today, and how the convergence of various technologies related to the financial sector can help us find solutions to problems, such as excessive debt creation, banks getting too big to fail, and shadow banking. 2017 Level: advanced The Blockchain Alternative Bheemaiah, Kariappa Apress This book presents a methodological framework for the analysis of intercultural issues frequently misinterpreted by existing theories. It uses a challenge-and-response theory of cultural development to examine the relationship between different natural disasters and threats and the developments of ancient civilizations. 2012 Level: beginner Introduction to Intercultural Economics Guo, Rongxing Springer A historical glimpse of how economists of the 19th century debated the usefulness of mathematics to economics 2020 Level: beginner Mathematical Economics in the 19th Century Nicolà Bezzola Exploring Economics In the history of the social sciences, few individuals have exerted as much influence as has Jeremy Bentham. His attempt to become “the Newton of morals” has left a marked impression upon the methodology and form of analysis that social sciences like economics and political science have chosen as modus operandi. 2020 Level: advanced Bentham’s Two Sovereign Masters - Examining Bentham’s Influence on the Social Sciences Jerome Warren Exploring Economics Transition from central planning to a market economy, involving large-scale institutional change and reforms at all levels, is often described as the greatest social science experiment in modern times. 2013 Level: advanced Handbook of the Economics and Political Economy of Transition Paul Hare, Gerard Turley Routledge Homo sapiens is now evolving into post economy The New Economy must manage scarcity and affluence a dual problem that is not integrated into the main classical economic theories There will be an important shock between opulence described by the economist John Kenneth Galbraith in The Affluent Society and scarcity … 2017 Level: beginner Shifting Economy Emmanuel Mossay, Michel de Kemmeter Wise Holding - Otherways scrl Nature and communities in the global south is being overwhelmed at a shocking rate. In many places this is due to ventures such as large-scale open-pit mining, oil extraction in tropical areas, and the spread of monocultures. These and other such forms of natural resource appropriation are usually known as extractivisms. 2021 Level: beginner Extractivisms Eduardo Gudynas Fernwood Publishing As the Covid-19 fueled economic downturn begins to intensify this winter, an extended study of the Italian cooperative sector’s historical resilience in times of crisis can serve as a learning experience for other countries seeking to create policies that foster more stable economies, with job security, care for marginalized communities and adequate counter-cyclical policies. Particularly, the Italian cooperative sector’s contributions to three aspects should be noted in closing. Firstly, the innovative phenomenon of cooperative enterprises has contributed to social inclusion of immigrant communities, the activation of youth, the unemployed and people with disabilities, a true compensation for both a market and state failure. Secondly, they have contributed to a reduction in income and wealth inequalities at a time when the issue of inequality is of global significance. Thirdly, the Italian cooperative movement has helped local communities revitalize in the face of demographic shifts and rendered them more resilient to the ravages of globalization. Each of these in their own right is a remarkable achievement. 2020 Level: beginner How to strengthen the social economy Jerome Warren Exploring Economics This Micro-Masters program on Circular Economy looks at the concept and its application from different angles, covering a very wide variety of topics (From Fossil Fuels to Biomass: A Chemistry Perspective; Circular Economy: An Interdisciplinary Approach; Economics and Policies in a Biobased Economy). It offers a well-rounded, multidisciplinary perspective, using sciences and humanities together for a deeper understanding of the topic. A great start for newbies with Circular Economy! The access to the course is for free, but you can also apply for full-time on-campus graduate-level programs, be it Wageninged or other universities. 2016 Level: advanced Economics and Policies for a Circular Bio-Economy Prof. Dr. Maria Barbosa, Prof. Dr. Jan Vreeburg, Prof. Dr. Jacqueline Bloemhof, et. al. Wageningen University & Research In most economics classes we focus on the production and consumption of goods and services, but what happens to the product and its packaging after it’s consumed? Waste disposal is a crucial step in the production process and as the theme of this month’s World Environment Day is #BeatPlasticPollution, we use the example of plastic bottles. 2023 Level: beginner Production and Waste: Plastic Pollution – Economy Studies Economy Studies Economy Studies In this teaching pack, we take a look at satellite crop monitoring and how it is used for both real and financial economic activities. By looking at commodity futures, we give students a sense of what financialization can mean. In the active exercise students learn to discuss these matters and reflect upon them. 2022 Level: beginner Space & Agriculture Economy Studies Economy Studies If there’s one method economists have neglected the most, it’s qualitative research. Whereas economists favour mathematical models and statistics, qualitative research seeks to understand the world through intensive investigation of particular circumstances, which usually entails interviewing people directly about their experiences. While this may sound simple to quantitative types the style, purpose, context, and interpretation of an interview can vary widely. Because of this variety, I have written a longer post than usual on this topic rather than doing it a disservice. Having said that, examples of qualitative research in economics are sadly scant enough that it doesn’t warrant multiple posts. In this post I will introduce qualitative research in general with nods to several applications including the study of firm behaviour, race, Austrian economics, and health economics. More than usual I will utilise block quotes, which I feel is in the spirit of the topic. 2020 Level: beginner Qualitative Methods in Economics: "You Can Observe a Lot Just by Watching" Cahal Moran Rethinking Economics From the two premises that (1) economies are complex systems and (2) the accumulation of knowledge about reality is desirable, I derive the conclusion that pluralism with regard to economic research programs is a more viable position to hold than monism. To substantiate this claim an epistemological framework of how scholars study their objects of inquiry and relate their models to reality is discussed. Furthermore, it is argued that given the current institutions of our scientific system, economics self-organizes towards a state of scientific unity. Since such a state is epistemologically inferior to a state of plurality, critical intervention is desirable. 2017 Level: advanced The Complexity of Economies and Pluralism in Economics Claudius Gräbner Johannes Kepler University Linz (ICAE) and University of Duisburg-Essen (IfSO), Journal of Contextual Economics Throughout 2022 it has become increasingly difficult for people around the world to meet their basic needs – even those who live in relative affluence in the Global North. This 30-minute classroom exercise takes this common recent experience as a starting point for an exploration of the different economic mechanisms and organisations that can be used to provide for people’s basic needs. 2022 Level: beginner Meeting Basic Needs Economy Studies Economy Studies The new online platform ‚DIY Macroeconomic Model Simulation‘ provides an open-source code repository and online script for macroeconomic model simulation. It follows a “do-it-yourself” (DIY) approach, empowering users to numerically simulate key macroeconomic models on their own using the programming language R. 2023 Level: advanced DIY Macroeconomic Model Simulation Platform Karsten Kohler and Franz Prante DIY Macroeconomic Model Simulation Eco-modernisation’s promise that technological fixes will provide us with the efficiency we need to decouple environmental burdens from economic growth suggests that business-as-usual can continue. Today’s guest Timothée Parrique is the best to explain why this is not happening and why relying solely on technological solutions is like betting on green zero in roulette. 2023 Level: beginner Why will technology not save our souls? Timothée Parrique, Alexandra Köves Economics for Rebels - European Society for Ecological Economics Geographical economics starts from the observation that economic activity is clearly not randomly distributed across space. This revised and updated introduction to geographical economics uses the modern tools of economic theory to explain the who, why and where of the location of economic activity. The text provides an integrated, first-principles introduction to geographical economics for advanced undergraduate students and first-year graduate students, and has been thoroughly revised and updated to reflect important developments in the field, including new chapters on alternative core models and policy implications. 2009 Level: advanced The New Introduction to Geographical Economics Steven Brakman, Harry Garretsen, Charles van Marrewijk Cambridge University Press

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