Econ & Finance

This page collects educational resources on the topics of economics and finance.

Readings

• A refresher on Current ratio (Harvard Business review)
  

Videos

• Economic Principles: How the Economic Machine Works
• Khan Academy provides an extensive collection of video tutorials on topics of microeconomics, macroeconomics, finance, and capital markets. These videos can be used to supplement traditional lectures, or they can also be assigned before class meeting. How about asking the student to review the video before class, and then give a short presentation in the classroom using new examples or problems.
• The Economics of Seinfeld is a great way to introduce economic concepts through one of America's favorite comedy shows. Economic concepts are illustrated by snippets of the show, which makes the concepts much more accessible to students who are otherwise afraid of the topic of economics!

Radio

• Freakconomics Radio, named after the best-selling book Freakconomics, offers excellent commentaries on current research in the area of behavioral economics. The show tends to focus on counter-intuitive issues which are both thought-provoking and fun.
  

Magazine

• The Economist is the leading magazine in the field of economics.
  

Online Courses 

• Harvard Business Publishing: Do you need pre-reqs? Tools to make sure the student comes to class knowing the basic concepts of your topic? Consider inexpensive online courses by Harvard Business Publishing. These courses are stand-alone, interactive modules that help students master fundamental concepts in business topics, such as finance or spreadsheet modeling. If you are a college professor, you should be able to review these courses for free, as long as you register as an educator with Harvard Business Publishing.

Competitions/Games

• Investopedia provides a free stock simulator that allows users to learn trading methods with $100K of virtual cash.
  
• iOme Challenge is a competition that asks college students to write an essay and produce a 60-sec video using the paper as a guide. The winning team gets $10,000 + a paid trip to Washington D.C. to present their entry to various policymakers. In the past, students have attended meetings at The White House and The Capitol Hill, and met with the Assistant Secretary of Labor, various Members of Congress and other policymakers, including representatives from the Departments of Labor, Education, and Treasury.  There may also be honorable mention prizes of $2,500 for teams and their faculty advisors ($2,000 for teams, $500 for faculty advisors.)