Economics in motion.

Interactive learning
Learning economics with interactive models is like play, the best way to truly learn.
Free for everyone
This non-profit initiative helps you learn for free, no matter who or where you are.
World-class learning
Developed by a team of faculty and students from Barnard College and Columbia University.

Economics is all about the dynamics of interactions between people, resources, and the environment.

To understand how change works, you need to see it in action. Interactive Economics lets you do just that. Click, drag, type, and see what happens.

Modules

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    Measuring Inequality

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    Economic inequality is a defining issue of our time. In this module, we explore how inequality can be measured in ways that allow for comparisons across time and space.
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    Specialization and Trade

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    We use products manufactured by people thousands of miles away on a daily basis. In this module, we examine specialization and the gains from trade.
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    Technology and Costs

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    In this module, we show how different technologies can be represented visually and how choices among technologies are made based on input prices.
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    Intertemporal Choice

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    Many economic decisions involve time. In this module, we look at how people can transfer purchasing power from one period to another and the role played by interest rates.
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    Measuring Output, Inflation, and Growth

    Coming soon

    Economic well-being depends on the total production of goods and services and the prices at which these are sold. In this module, we examine how economic growth and price inflation are measured.

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    Aggregate Production and Fiscal Policy

    Coming soon

    This module examines the role of investment, exports, government expenditures, and taxes in the determination of aggregate output.

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    Balance Sheets and Trading

    Coming soon

    This module examines how assets, liabilities, and net worth are recorded on balance sheets, and considers how securities are traded in financial markets.

Interactive Economics is part teaching tool, part playground.

We created Interactive Economics because students struggle to see how a static graph or equation explains the dynamic world they live in. When they ask ‘But what if?’, they should have a way to see the answer for themselves.

Interactive Economics does not replace your current textbook. It’s a free resource that helps you broaden the way you teach or learn. Each module covers an important concept in economics, like measuring inequality or output and inflation, and takes you through it step by step. At each step along the way, you get to play with data or models.

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