Understanding Economics is a short-form educational history series designed to explore how economic decisions shape societies, power structures, and everyday life over time.
Each episode focuses on a single economic concept, policy, or system that has played a meaningful role in American and global history. Rather than arguing for specific economic positions, the series examines where these ideas come from, how they function in practice, and how their effects change depending on historical context, scale, and who bears their costs.
Through concise videos, students are introduced to economics not as abstract theory, but as a lived force - one that influences prices, labor, trade, opportunity, and inequality. The series emphasizes cause and consequence, showing how economic choices ripple outward into politics, culture, and daily experience.
These videos are not meant to promote ideology or prescribe solutions. They are designed to help learners understand how economic systems work, how policies are formed, and how economic outcomes are shaped by context, incentives, and power.
Educators can use this series to:
- examine foundational economic concepts through historical examples
- explore how economic policy affects different regions and social groups
- connect economics to U.S. history, civics, and contemporary issues
- support critical thinking about trade-offs, incentives, and unintended consequences
This series emphasizes historical grounding, clarity of definition, and real-world application, making it suitable for upper elementary through early high school classrooms.
Part of The Daily Then - short-form history, civics, and economics resources built to support inquiry-based learning.
