Economics for High School Students

Technology and Social Change

Producers really are slaves to their consumers. Destruction & Production can be called Power & Market. Technology like the printing press was initially feared. It would put scribes out of business. Technology describes each generation in our human-built world. Entrepreneurs emulate and compete in the market, improving in small steps existing production. Patents and regulations restrict the free flow of information. Presented by Jeffrey Tucker at the "Economics for High School Students" seminar. Recorded at the Mises Institute in Auburn, Alabama; 20 November 2009. Sponsored by Jeremy S. Davis.

Applying Economics to American History

Understanding economics helps you see history better. American workers, although only lightly unionized, were more productive than others. All high standards of living are due to free markets. Governments destroy this. The time required to work in order to earn enough to buy various goods and services has significantly declined through history. That is due to capitalism's increased productivity . There is a different story to robber barons than the false bad news. The Wild West was not. Chief Seattle's environmental speech was phony. Property rights were assigned to care for resources through incentives.   Presented by Thomas E. Woods, Jr. at the "Economics for High School Students" seminar. Recorded at the Mises Institute in Auburn, Alabama; 20 November 2009. Sponsored by Jeremy S. Davis.

The Core of What Economics Teaches

Free market capitalism coordinates every stage of every production desired by consumers as if by magic. Knowing Austrian economics will allow you to see which public policies are disastrous to this productivity. Unintended consequences, opportunity cost, and pricing theory are fundamental concepts to explain human action. Presented by Robert P. Murphy at the "Economics for High School Students" seminar. Recorded at the Mises Institute in Auburn, Alabama; 20 November 2009.  Sponsored by Jeremy S. Davis.

The Economics of Recycling

Recycling happens naturally when there is market demand for waste items like plastic, paper, metal or glass, but mandated recycling does more harm than good. When do you know that recycling is worthy? You know when some person or business asks to buy your particular waste from you, not when some authority forces you to recycle. Thus, metal and kraft cardboard currently do find markets but the other waste items of plastic, paper and glass do not now that the Chinese have stopped buying all our waste. We are not running out of landfill space. We are not saving resources or protecting the environment by recycling. People would recycle without being forced to when it is economically beneficial to do so. Presented by Floy Lilley at the "Economics for High School Students" seminar. Recorded at the Mises Institute in Auburn, Alabama; 20 November 2009. Sponsored by Jeremy S. Davis.

Money, Banking and the Current Mess

Money originates by free markets via barter and gold and silver, not by governments via fiat. A story of Halloween candy demonstrates this.  The double coincidence of wants is solved by money. Money that will last will be six things: generally marketable, divisible, high value per unit weight (portable), durable, recognizable, and homogeneous. Gold and silver have always met these six criteria. Money is the single commodity that if you had more of you would not be better off. Paper money has not been backed by any gold since August 1971 when Nixon closed the gold window. Government since then has had no restriction on creating money for any and all expenditures like warfare and welfare. Zimbabwe's recent hyperinflation led to one hundred trillion Zimbabwean dollars buying less than a Happy Meal at McDonald's. This was similar to Germany's hyperinflation in 1923. Presented by Douglas E. French at the "Economics for High School Students" seminar. Recorded at the Mises Institute in Auburn, Alabama; 20 November 2009. Sponsored by Jeremy S. Davis.