Business & Economics
Free Educational Resources!
This collection of video-centered educational materials focuses on the areas of Business and Economics for grades 6-12+. Explore our Courses (some accredited!), Learning Modules (structured content collections with about a week's worth of material), Teaching Units (educational videos with support materials), and Teachable Moments (short, right-to-the-point videos on one topic).
Educational videos with full teacher's guides.
The Invisible Hand
eBay and a Scottish bakery demonstrate Adam Smith's Invisible Hand concept within a free market.
4 Ways to Spend Money
A musical look at economist Milton Friedman's 4 Ways to Spend Money.
Borrower Beware
In 2008, housing prices soared. Getting a mortgage was easy. Then the bubble burst. Why?
The Drew Carey Project - Vol. 2
How far should the government go to protect people from their own choices?
Financial Literacy
Want less stress? More happiness? Learn how to manage your money... whatever there is of it!
Free Trade
A re-examination of Milton Friedman's free-market principles in the context of current times.
Food Truck Roadblock
In Chicago, excessive government regulation often dictates how food truck owners run their business.
The Foundations of Wealth
How society has evolved from the subsistence economies of old to the global trade economies of today.
The Great Depression: 2.0
The Great Depression had more to do with the money supply than the stock market crash.
Inventing the Future
How did entrepreneurs and venture capitalists create the building blocks of our future?
Locked Out! Roots of the Arab Spring
Expropriation by corrupt government officials set off the protests that became the Arab Spring.
Morality in the Marketplace
Knowing right from wrong, and how morality applies to today's businesses and the free market.
The Paradox of Progress
The process of creative destruction through the story of package delivery pioneered by FedEx.
Pennies a Day
Small loans to millions of rural villagers has enabled poor women to lift their families out of extreme poverty.
Personal Best
In the U.S., all are guaranteed equality under the law, but have we achieved that ideal?
Power to the Planet
Examine the pros & cons of our available energy sources, from fossil fuels to wind and solar.
The Price System
It is the price system and the free market which has enabled the United States to develop.
Risk & Reward
Venture capitalists backed entrepreneurs to create some of America's most successful businesses.
Sneaker Money
A young urban entrepreneur helps his neighbors who are locked out of traditional banking for a variety of reasons.
Student Loans
Planning for your future requires understanding education & career options, and the ramifications of student loan debt. How does it all work?
Too Big to Fail?
The East India Company is an old example of crony capitalism. What's lobbying? Why shouldn't we 'feed' business?
Too Much Money
When governments keep printing money without backing, it reduces the purchasing power of your money.
What's Taxing About Taxes?
Federal income tax - who pays? What's 'fair?' A group of students dig deeper.
Where Did My Money Go?
Paycheck sticker shock leads to a lesson on the many taxes paid by individuals.
Win Win - a Trading Game
Win-Win is a classroom trading game that will have students learning about economics and trade.
A World of Money
Throughout history, money has taken many forms. Go around the world to document the history of money.
Short, right-to-the-point videos.
Barter & Entrepreneurship
Lady entrepreneur in Africa (Zambia) explans how barter was part of her initial business.
Birth of Video Game Biz
The history of Atari and video games.
Chicago Mercantile Exchange
A peek into the Chicago Merchantile Exchange, where cattle futures stand in for cattle.
Competition Brings Better Products
How competition allows consumers choices.
Compressed Natural Gas Trucks
Big rigs run on compressed natural gas - lower emissions!
Consumer Choices Drive Price, Supply & Demand
Consumers vote with their wallets, impacting price and supply & demand.
East India Tea Company
What company prompted the Boston Tea Party?
eBay - Economic Democracy - Reputation Matters
Visit eBay to see Invisible Hand at work, and how reputation is critical for sellers.
Freewheeling Innovation
New technology in bike helmets can't be used in the U.S. Why not? Regulations.
From Idea to Business
How business incubators help entrepreneurs connect with venture capitalists and get started.
History of U.S. Federal Income Tax
What's the history of the U.S. federal income tax system?
Hong Kong's Rise as Economic Powerhouse
Without natural resources, how did Hong Kong become such an economical powerhouse?
How $ and Fractional Reserve Banking Work
Why money has value and how fractional reserve banking works.
Lowell MA and the Industrial Revolution
Industrial revolution began in Lowell, Mass.
Roadblocks & Food Trucks
Lobbying and regulation in the food service industry.
Sheep, Subsidies, & the Environment
How did farm subsidies lead to skinny sheep in New Zealand?
Steve Forbes On Achievement - A.P. Giannini
A.P. Giannini built his bank by loaning money to ordinary people.
Steve Forbes On Achievement - Carroll Shelby
Carroll Shelby, father of the high-performance 'muscle car.'
Steve Forbes On Achievement - Clarence Saunders
Saunders's Piggly Wiggly changed shopping forever.
Steve Forbes On Achievement - David Sarnoff
How David Sarnoff pioneered modern broadcasting.
Steve Forbes On Achievement - Frank Woolworth
Frank Woolworth opened the first five-and-dime store.
Steve Forbes On Achievement - Fred Harvey
Fred Harvey, civilizer of the American West.
Steve Forbes On Achievement - Garrett Morgan
Garrett Morgan, serial innovator and entrepreneur focusing on safety.
Steve Forbes On Achievement - George Eastman
George Eastman created the Kodak camera.
Steve Forbes On Achievement - Gertrude Whitney
Sculptor and philanthropist Gertrude Whitney, founder of the Whitney Museum.
Steve Forbes On Achievement - Henry Kaiser
Henry Kaiser built roads, dams, ships–and more.
Steve Forbes On Achievement - Herbert Hoover
Herbert Hoover succeeded and failed with the same skills.
Steve Forbes On Achievement - John H. Johnson
John H. Johnson-Negro Digest, Ebony, Jet.
Steve Forbes On Achievement - Julia Morgan
Julia Morgan made buildings safer with reinforced concrete.
Steve Forbes On Achievement - J.R. Simplot
How Billionaire J.R. Simplot went from French fries to microchips.
Steve Forbes On Achievement - Lena Malsin
How Lena Malsin changed fashion forever.
Steve Forbes On Achievement - Malcolm McLean
Malcom McLean revolutionized the shipping industry.
Steve Forbes On Achievement - Margaret Rudkin
Margaret Rudkin's quest for healthier bread created a booming business.
Steve Forbes On Achievement - Norman Borlaug
How Norman Borlaug fought world hunger.
Steve Forbes On Achievement - Ruth Handler
Ruth Handler created the Barbie doll.
Steve Forbes On Achievement - Sir John James Cowperthwaite
Hong Kong and Sir John James Cowperthwaite.
Steve Forbes On Achievement - Thomas Cook
Thomas Cook made travel possible for everyday people.
Supply, Demand & Price
Adam Smith's Invisible Hand at work - Supply & Demand drive price.
The Weka Dilemma
New Zealand weka birds are endangered, but this farmer has a unique plan to save them!
Venture Capital - Risking for Reward
How venture capital works.