Supplemental readings and more

Module A: Demand, Supply, and Adjustments to Dynamic Change This supplemental unit is an extension to Part 1, Element 6 “Prices bring the choices of buyers and sellers into balance.”
  1. Demand, Supply, and Adjustments to Dynamic Change Plus the Economics of Price Controls

Module B: Macroeconomic Indicators These supplements cover three key macroeconomic indicators and are intended to complement Part 2, Common Sense Economics (2016).
  1. Gross Domestic Product (GDP): What Is It and How Is It Measured?
  2. Price Index: What Is the Consumer Price Index and How Is It Used to Measure Inflation
  3. Unemployment Rate: What Is It and How Is It Measured?

Module C: Fiscal and Monetary Policy This complement to Part 3 provides information about how fiscal and monetary policies influence economic fluctuations.
  1. Fiscal Policy and Budget Deficits – Complements Parts 2 and 3 of Common Sense Economics. This feature focuses on fiscal policy, what it is and discusses the advantages and disadvantages associated with using fiscal policy as a tool with which to promote economic stability and strong growth. 
  2. Monetary Policy: How Is It Conducted and How Does It Affect the Economy? – Complements Parts 2 and 3 of Common Sense Economics with special attention drawn to Part 2, Element 5 which stresses the contribution of monetary and price stability as a source of long-term economic growth. This supplement provides additional detail on how monetary policy is conducted and considers how it influences fluctuations in the levels of output and employment. 

Module D:  The Great Depression and the Great Recession 
Complements Part 1, Element 12 and Part 3, Elements 2-9.
  1. Lessons From the Great Depression – This supplemental PDF document examines the forces contributing to the Great Depression. It explores the role of contractionary monetary policy, expansionary fiscal policy catering to the needs of special interest groups, high marginal tax policies and restrictions on international trade. It concludes with an examination of the lessons of this period for our current economic conditions. This features works particularly good with Parts II and III of Common Sense Economics. For more information, visit Macroeconomics: Private and Public Choice, 16th Edition at www.cengage.com/economics/gwartney  Used with permission.
  2. Economic Crisis of 2008: Causes and Lessons for the Future – This supplemental PDF document investigates the causes of the Great Recession and offers lessons for the future. This features works particularly good with Parts 2 and 3 of Common Sense Economics. For more information see Macroeconomics: Private and Public Choice, 15th Edition at www.cengage.com/economics/gwartney  Used with permission.

Module E: Economics, Work, and Happiness
  1. A Formula for Happiness by Arthur C. Brooks
  2. Elite Colleges Don’t Buy Happiness for Graduates by Douglas Belkin
  3. Why Giving Matters by Arthur C. Brooks

Module F: Economics, Markets and Morality

 
  1. Cronyism, Economic Freedom, and Human Flourishing by Joseph Connors
  2. The Declining Economic Freedom of the United States by James Gwartney, Robert Lawson, and Josh Hall
  3. Free Exchange: Morality and Economic Freedom by Jim Daly and Glenn T. Stanton
  4. Greed is Not Good, and It’s Not Capitalism by Jay Richards
  5. Rule of Law: Economic Prosperity Requires the Rule of Law by J. Kenneth Blackwell
  6. The Intellectual Defense of Liberty by Walter Williams

Module G: The Economics of Poverty

 
  1. Changes in Poverty Rates by the Numbers by Joseph Connors and James Gwartney
  2. Economic Freedom: The Path to Flourishing for the Poor by Anne Bradley and Joseph Connors
  3. Reflections on the Minimum Wage and Poverty by Bishop Harry R. Jackson, Jr.
  4. What Causes Poverty in America by Jay Richards
  5. What’s Wrong with Inequality? by Elise Amyx and Jay Richards
  6. Why Welfare Should Respect the Dignity of Work by Hugh Whelchel and Anne Rathbone Bradley.

Module H: Economics of the Environment
  1. Are We Running Out of Resources by James Gwartney, Richard Stroup, Russel Sobel, and David Macpherson
  2. How to Be a Good Steward of Energy and the Environment by Jay Richards
  3. PC Oil Drilling in a Wildlife Refuge by Pamela S. Snyder and Jane S. Shaw
  4. Tragedy Made Simple: Where Have All the Fishes Gone? by William J. Bennetta

Module I: Smart Choices for Earning More Income
  1. Choosing a College: Does it Pay to Go to an Elite University by James Gwartney, Richard Stroup, Russell Sobel, and David Macpherson
  2. Invest in Education by Scott Niederjohn
  3. Career Planning for a Satisfying Job by Scott Niederjohn

Offer exercises that apply the 12 key economic elements of Part 1 to personal finance.  By applying economic reasoning, individuals see how sound decision-making can lead to financially secure and personally rewarding lives.

  1. Budgeting and Financial Fitness for Life Spreadsheet for “Budgeting Basics”
  2. Budgeting and Financial Fitness for Life Spreadsheet for “Zero-Based Budgeting” 
  3. Budgeting and Financial Fitness for Life Spreadsheet for “Budgeting in a Dynamic World”

Module J: Smart Choices for Managing Credit
  1. What is Credit? by Mark Schug
  2. Tracking Your Credit History by Mark Schug

Module K: Smart Choices for Saving and Investing
  1. Why Save? by John Morton and Signè Thomas
  2. Building Wealth Over Time by John Morton, Scott Niederjohn, and Signè Thomas

Module L: Smart Choices for Insurance

 
  1. What is Risk and How Can We Manage It? by William C. Wood
  2. Insurance Markets and Your Insurance Strategy by William C. Wood
  3. The Special Case of Health Insurance by William C. Wood

10 controversies in economics video series – These videos and their accompanying sets of questions promise to stimulate discussion about controversial topics related to concepts highlighted in various modules. Videos can be shown in seated classrooms or assigned for viewing outside of classrooms. Questions encourage students to use economic reasoning to answer questions.  Each video is available in the Critical Commons (criticalcommons.org) under the “Fair Use Act”, Section 107.

Course cartridges and digital assets- A course cartridge is available and can be used in learning management systems, including but not limited to, Blackboard, Canvas or Moodle is available for educational use on evidence of formal course adoption of the second or third edition of the textbook Common Sense Economics (St. Martin’s Press) at a high school or college. Customize cartridges can be created on request for non-profit use.  To gain access to the course shell or make an inquiry about a customized package, please complete the CSE adoption form and agree to these terms of course adoption.  For details, contact Dr. Tawni Hunt Ferrarini at TFerrarini@Lindenwood.edu.