Archive for the ‘inflation’ Tag
Link: https://www.marketplace.org/shows/make-me-smart-with-kai-and-molly/where-does-the-money-for-stimulus-checks-come-from/
$1.86 trillion in relief spending has been authorized by congress, which will be financed by the sale of government bonds and other debt instruments. The Federal Reserve Bank will purchase many of these bonds which will cause an inflow of money into the economy. This podcast also elaborates on the inflationary implications of the stimulus checks entering the economy.
There is also discussion of Google’s market power and vaccination progress.
Discussion Prompt: What is the intended goal of the stimulus checks and what unintended consequences can arise as a result?
Original Air Date: March 17, 2021
Length: 19 minutes and 34 seconds
Link: https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2018/01/12/577710151/the-recession-predictor
Summary: There appears to be fear that another recession is approaching the United States, but what are the warning signs for the country’s economy? From talks about inflation, interest rates, and borrowing, the yield curve is known to be a powerful and the most accurate predictor of recessions.
Original Air Date: January 12, 2018
Length: 9 minutes 5 seconds
Link: http://www.marketplace.org/2016/03/21/world/venezuela-hot-dog
Summary: Marketplace breaks down the complexities of the Venezuelan economy using the local pepito as a metaphor to explore inflation and the impacts of an oil-dependent economy.
Original Air Date: March 23, 2016
Length: 3 minutes 16 seconds
Link: http://www.npr.org/sections/money/2015/11/18/456410327/episode-416-why-the-price-of-coke-didnt-change-for-70-years
Summary: The Planet Money team investigates how the price of a Coke was able to stay at 5¢ for 70 years. In finding the explanation, the Planet Money team also considers the reasons for Coke’s global success.
Original Air Date: November 18, 2015
Length: 19 minutes 7 seconds
Link: http://www.npr.org/sections/money/2015/10/23/451228005/episode-659-how-to-make-3-trillion-disappear
Summary: The Planet Money team discusses the end of quantitative easing – how it works and how it is coming to an end. A particular focus is how this process will impact commercial banks and their clients.
Original Air Date: October 26, 2015
Length: 15 minutes 25 seconds
Link: http://www.npr.org/sections/money/2015/11/20/456855788/episode-664-the-great-inflation
Summary: In this Podcast, high inflation in the 70’s and 80’s is examined in depth. The Planet Money team find there is more to inflation than just a surplus of money in the economy.
Original Air Date: November 21, 2015
Length: 24 minutes 45 seconds
Link: http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2014/10/03/353300404/episode-573-why-textbook-prices-keep-climbing
Summary: Something strange is going on in the textbook market. The price has steeply increased over the past decade–and they’re only getting higher. There is a disconnect between the chooser (the professors) and the buyers (the students). Technically, the professor is the consumer, and they’re spending their students’ money. The podcast offers the opposite: high school textbooks, where costs are kept low because the books are paid for by the schools.
Original Air Date: October 3, 2014
Length: 14 minutes 56 seconds
Discussion Question/ Prompt: Propose a solution to the rising textbook price problem. (Example: a price ceiling? professor awareness of prices? incentives for lower prices?)
Link: http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2014/11/28/366793693/episode-586-how-stuff-gets-cheaper
Summary: The Planet Money team looks at how some things get cheaper over time. The podcast hosts visit a company called Monoprice, whose job it is to find out ways to make things cheaper–in other words, a lot of detective work.
Original Air Date: November 28, 2014
Length: 14 minutes 11 seconds
Prompt: Write a brief letter to Monoprice with your thoughts on their job. Is it efficient? Is it cost-productive?
Link: http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2014/11/07/362060876/episode-581-free-money
Summary: This podcast discusses arbitrage (free money), using the example of used textbooks. Arbitrage (free money) is a risk-free way to buy low and sell high. You can find one thing that’s selling for two different prices, and exploit the mistake.
Original Air Date: November 7, 2014
Length: 14 minutes 29 seconds
Prompt: Imagine you find an opportunity like the one discussed in the podcast. Write an outline of how you would go about this discovery, and what your plan of action would be.
Discussion Question: A woman in the podcast said their practice was immoral. Do you agree or disagree? Is what these two men are doing wrong? Use economic thinking in your discussion.
Link: http://www.marketplace.org/topics/sustainability/what-could-slow-uss-surging-oil-output-low-prices
Summary: The oil the United States has been pumping has been getting less and less profitable. In North America, oil comes from fracking shale, and after the first initial output, oil companies have to drill deeper and deeper to get to the oil, causing it to be more expensive to access. However, the price of oil is dropping worldwide, and that could mean that the United States could be out of the oil industry, simply because it costs too much to produce.
Original Air Date: October 10, 2014
Length: 2 minutes
