Economics

Recent reports and studies suggest that the outsized political power of hospitals is a big reason why American health care is so expensive.

At 2.25 percent interest over a period of a thousand years, Fry's bank balance has grown a lot since the 20th century.

Summary: This chart shows the percentage of new car loans and the term of their loans (in months).  Questions: How would you summarize the trend in the length of new car loans over the past decade? Increasing or decreasing? Which loan term has seen the sharpest increase in the past decade?  What is the relationship between the term of the loan and the amount of the monthly payment? The longer the loan term, the _______ the monthly payment.  The _________ the loan term, the higher the monthly loan payment.  If you wanted to pay the least amount of interest on a loan,...

Independent Institute Research Fellow Art Carden on the economics behind price gouging.

News reports, articles, and websites tell us of the waning belief in capitalism. What do you think about capitalism? Is capitalism evil? Or has it lifted billions of people out of poverty? This segment looks at capitalism.

Answer: 229 times Here are the figures for the top music sites: Questions: Given their average payout for stream of $0.004 per song for Spotify, how many music streams would you have to listen to in order to cover a $9.95 monthly subscription?   Why do you think that the streaming services have such different payouts per stream?  Your friend says "I can make a good living just putting my music up on YouTube." Agree or disagree with him using the data provided above.  Do you think the payouts per stream will increase or decrease in the future?  Click here for the rea...

Feast and football. That's what many of us think about at Thanksgiving. Most people identify the origin of the holiday with the Pilgrims' first bountiful harvest. But few understand how the Pilgrims actually solved their chronic food shortages. Many people believe that after suffering through a severe winter, the Pilgrims' food shortages were resolved the following spring when the Native Ameri

Teaching finance to your child may seem overwhelming, but it can be easily done by incorporating lessons into things you're doing everyday anyway.

[vc_row martech_row_background_position=”None” css=”.vc_custom_1592419095078{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row martech_row_background_position=”None” bg_type=”bg_color” bg_override=”full” bg_color_value=”#ffffff”][vc_column][vc_column_text] The Wharton Summer High School Programs are immersive experiences for students currently enrolled in grades 9–11. Led by Wharton faculty and instructional staff, programs explore topics that align with Wharton research and teaching. Pre-collegiate students engage with our rigorous business education…Read More

"This is just one tool in the toolbox." This is the go-to refrain you'll hear from business groups, lobbyists, and legislators alike when it comes to tax incentive programs like Good Jobs for Michigan, which is set to expire on Dec. 31 if the legislature doesn't vote to either extend or…

Answer: YouTube Here's the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom. Questions: Where do you go most frequently? Why? Five years ago, what would your answer have been?  Compare these services from a cost perspective.

Answer: Pepsi Questions What factors do you think contribute to the very different market performance of these companies? Which products do you personally prefer?  Would you make an investment decision based on your personal product preference? Pepsi also has diversified into the snack food business and owns Doritos, Cheetos and Sun Chips while Coke has diversified into the coffee business. Knowing this, which company do you think has better long-term prospects?

Good question to show the power of compounding...of course be sure to tell them that no investment would double on a daily basis for 30 days;) Calculators not allowed!  Answer: Starting with a penny and doubling it every day compounds to $10.7 million after 30 days Day 1: You would have $0.02 Day 2: You would have $0.04 Day 3: You would have $0.08 Day 4: You would have $0.16... Day 30: You would have $10,737,418.24. Questions: How much would the penny have grown to on Day 29? How much did the value increase between Day 29 and Day 30?  Now apply this concept to your own saving...

Sheet1 Start with a penny and it doubles every day starting on Day 1 Day #,Amount 1,$0.02 2,$0.04 3,$0.08 4,$0.16 5,$0.32 6,$0.64 7,$1.28 8,$2.56 9,$5.12 10,$10.24 11,$20.48 12,$40.96 13,$81.92 14,$163.84 15,$327.68 16,$655.36 17,$1,310.72 18,$2,621.44 19,$5,242.88 20,$10,485.76 21,$20,971.52 22...

Here's an activity I did with my class a few years back that helped simulate the psychological aspects of investing.  It's a pretty simple game with multiple ways that you could extend and increase its complexity. Game Instructions You are starting the game with a fictional balance of $100 This game will have 10 rounds The player with the highest balance after 10 rounds will be the WINNER! Game worksheet  How each round proceeds:  Each student independently decides if they want to be IN or OUT OF THE MARKET and marks their spreadsheet IN or OUT. A classmate will verify that t...

Do government programs always help? Do the outcomes match the promises? What about the unseen, unintended results? This segment looks at the Cash for Clunkers program, and its results.

Hat tip to Kareem for spotting this interactive. A little bit of math might help you make better decisions when it comes to buying pizza. From NPR.org: One day last year, an engineer and I went to a pizza place for lunch. The engineer told me he wasn't very hungry, but he said he was going to get the 12-inch medium instead of the 8-inch small — because the medium was more than twice as big as the small, and it cost only a little bit more.

The importance of Penn having its students take a Physical World course pales in comparison to preparing its students to successfully navigate the make-or-break financial decisions that await them after college.

Blake's Orchard & Cider Mill makes most of its money on fall outings, hard cider and apples, but this year, the Armada-based farm is experimenting with a new crop: hemp.Part of the team behind the business is harvesting about 7 acres of the plant, known for its use in CBD oil and strong fabrics…

Question of the Day Career #32 UPDATED A YouTuber with over 1.4 million views a month can expect to earn about ________in monthly income. www.ngpf.org Last updated: 11/6/20

Below is a very good report from 60 Minutes Australia that gives you an update on China’s ghost cities. Roughly 22 percent of China’s urban housing stock is unoccupied, according to Professor…

The consensus of professional forecasters is that U.S. real GDP growth will dip below 2% in 2020.

NGPF Activity Bank Behavioral Finance PLAY: Roll with the Market The basic principles of investing may seem simple - “buy low, sell high”, “set it and forget it”, and more. However, the psychology of investing can illuminate why we human beings can sometimes make investing more difficu...

Question of the Day Budgeting #54 Rank the following cost components for a cup of coffee from largest to smallest: milk cups/napkins shop costs/rent coffee staff costs www.ngpf.org Last updated: 5/22/19

How can we teach students about the stock market when they have no investing experience? I listened to this Masters of Business podcast with Barry Ritholtz interviewing investor and author Joel Greenblatt and picked up a few good ideas. Joel is not only a practitioner (a very successful hedge fund manager) but also an educator having spent the last 20+ years as a professor at Columbia Business School. Joel described the challenges of describing the stock market to a group of 9th graders at a Harlem high school and the ingenious idea he came up (about 48:20-51:00 in podcast): He brought...