Economics for CanadiansCroecko Publishing

A cardboard bicycle An Israeli engineer heard about a

cardboard canoe, and thought about the possibility of building a cardboard bike

He asked experts, who all told him it would never work

He was depressed until his wife told him to do it, as he was driving her crazy

He now has a working prototype and hopes to market the bike for $20

The theme of “Economics for Canadians”

Free, fair and functioning markets offer great benefits to individuals and societies

Free, fair and functioning markets are only possible where people’s rights and where the rule of law are respected

Rigged and broken markets do, however, exist. They benefit special interests at the expense of everyone else

The backstory “Economic Education” by Brian

Maddock “Workbook for the New I.B.

Economics” Awareness of the need for a clear,

concise and affordable high school (and community college) Canadian economics textbook

“Occupy Wall Street” protests in the fall of 2011 add emphasis to the need for economic education

The Book Itself 85 lessons with exercises Questions for review and extension

every 6-8 lessons Four lessons on the current and

ongoing global financial crisis Index of economic terms

A Guide for Teachers How to use “Economics for

Canadians” with students Lesson guides – suggested additional

resources, teaching tips, and the solutions to the exercises

Student writing support materials Sample test and quiz papers

www.croecko.com Additional exercises

Additional test and quiz papers

Resource links (and supporting question sheets)

Writing support materials and exemplars

The Flipped Classroom Students read and prepare for

lessons at home, but work on questions and engage in active learning activities in class where they can seek help from their classmates and teachers

The Flipped Classroom (2) When using “Economics for Canadians”

• Assign homework – read next lesson and do vocabulary questions

• The next day, check the questions have been completed and orally check for comprehension of the lesson’s main ideas. Spend a short amount of time instructing students on trickier bits.

• Students work on the more challenging questions in class. Group activities and documentaries can also be done in class.

The book and current events

“Occupy Wall Street” and the threat of ignorant ‘anti-capitalism’

The very important distinction between a free market economy and a crony capitalist economy and the problems that arise when people confuse the two

Matt Taibbi – “I think I am doing more crime reporting than financial reporting”

Free Markets A functioning free market economy is the

product of countless social norms and laws that give people the confidence to take risks

Free and uncorrupted markets generate accurate price information

Accurate price information allows us to make good decisions and allocate scarce resources most effectively which in turn increases overall welfare

Rigged Markets Rigged markets exist to serve and enrich

insiders. Laws are changed or ignored if they are not convenient. Competition is suppressed as government and certain businesses cultivate close relationships.

Price information becomes corrupt as insiders, in rigging markets, also rig prices. Poor price information leads to resources being poorly allocated throughout the economy.

The Financial Crisis Best understood as the capture of

government by financial and banking interests

Years of falling interest rates led banks to employ ever-greater leverage in the pursuit of profit

People began to emulate banks as they too employed ever-greater leverage when buying property

The Financial Crisis (2) Since 2008 (or perhaps even 2001), it

has been apparent that there is too much debt and that much of it will not be repaid

In order to maintain the illusion that they were solvent financial institutions have pushed for very low interest rates

However, making the ‘price’ of money artificially low has consequences

The Financial Crisis (3) Real negative interest rates:

• Discourage saving• Encourage speculation• Prop up ‘zombie’ institutions and individuals

that are in fact insolvent, thus delaying indefinitely the creative destruction that would, through bankruptcy, see debts forgiven, assets reduced in price and redeployed, and the economy once again set on the path of recovery.

The Financial Crisis (4) Fundamentally, this mispricing of risk and

of capital results in resources being mis-allocated

Capital is not going where it is needed and where it could be most productive. Instead it goes towards speculation, and the result is widespread inflation and unemployment

Recovery will be elusive until interest rates rise, bankruptcies occur, and the system is allowed to reset

Thank you

I hope you will find the book and the website useful.

If you could please sign the participants list that is going around before you leave, I would appreciate it.

Thank-you very much for your interest and attention. Feel free to get in touch if you have any questions.