If Tyler Cowen only had an hour to teach you economics, what would he cover?

In this new series, taped live at the 2018 AP Economics Conference co-hosted by MRU & the St. Louis Fed, GMU Professor Tyler Cowen offers his “9 ideas.”

In this first video, Cowen quotes Socrates as saying that “the only true wisdom is in knowing that you know nothing.”

But that’s not the case for economists -- most know at least one thing and that is: the demand curve slopes downward!

As Cowen points out, the law of demand is highly transferable to our everyday lives. But it seems to apply best when price is unambiguous -- say you go to a store to buy ping-pong balls which each cost 99 cents. It’s pretty easy to determine how many you want to buy at that price.

But what about when price is more ambiguous? For instance, applying economic principles to your family, or to receiving your education. In other words, scenarios where it is hard to slap a price on an item. The demand curve does still slope downward in these situations, but “prices” are much more complex.

In this video Cowen explains, similarly, how economic educators can help students apply economics to the other disciplines they study everyday...social studies, history, and more.

Stay tuned for more videos in this series, released weekly!

Are you a high school teacher that wants to attend this conference next year? Registration is now open! https://bit.ly/2DozLzv

Or join MRU at a future economics teaching event! Visit this page for more information: https://bit.ly/2AQIWq5