What does it look like when someone in Sweden brushes their teeth or when someone in Rwanda makes their bed? Anna Rosling Rönnlund wants all of us to find out, so she sent photographers to 264 homes in 50 countries (and counting!) to...

They say money can't buy happiness, but who are they? Can money buy happiness? The answer is: sort of. While money may not be able to buy true happiness, lack of money can cause very real misery. Today, we look at the economics of...

We've been talking about the unavoidables recently. Last time, we covered Death. This time, it's taxes. So, what are taxes? Why do we pay taxes? What is all that tax money used for? This week, Adriene is going to cover all that and more....

Can we solve the problem of ocean plastic pollution and end extreme poverty at the same time? That's the ambitious goal of The Plastic Bank: a worldwide chain of stores where everything from school tuition to cooking fuel and more is...

Talking at the US State Department this summer, Hans Rosling uses his fascinating data-bubble software to burst myths about the developing world. Look for new analysis on China and the post-bailout world, mixed with classic data shows.

Imagine that you've been unemployed for months. Government benefit programs have helped you cover your expenses, but you're barely getting by. Finally, you receive a paycheck— but there's a catch. Your new job pays enough to disqualify...

Today we’re exploring social mobility in some more depth. We’ll look at intergenerational and intragenerational mobility and the difference between absolute and relative mobility. We’ll go over the long run upward social mobility trends...

Inequality is a big, big subject. There's racial inequality, gender inequality, and lots and lots of other kinds of inequality. This is Econ, so we're going to talk about wealth inequality and income inequality. There's no question that...

What is an underground economy? Whether you call it a black market, a grey market, or just the shop down the street, its about connecting people with goods outside of official channels. Some stuff happens in the underground economy...

Cities pump out 70 percent of all global carbon emissions -- which means they also have the greatest opportunity to lower CO2 levels and energy consumption. Climate and data scientist Angel Hsu shares how cities around the world are...

What puts the “science” in social science? Today we’ll explore positivist sociology and how sociologists use empirical evidence to explore questions about the social world. We’ll also introduce two alternatives: interpretative sociology...

Social class in America is... hard to talk about. As Sociology, the difficulty lies in pinning down what we mean by "Social Class." In this episode of Crash Course Sociology, Nicole chats to us about how Sociologists figure this out so...

This video explores the concept of tariffs as a tool for economic development, focusing on the historical use of tariffs in the United States. It discusses how tariffs were initially used to protect and foster domestic industries,...

This video discusses the complex factors contributing to wealth and income inequality in Australia, highlighting the unique mix of challenges faced by the country. Despite not having inheritance taxes, Australia has managed to maintain...

Italy is ranked among the top nations in the world for its standard of living. Even so, a constant refrain that’s heard when people talk about Italy is how divided the country is between north and south. For centuries, northern Italy has...

France’s per capita gross domestic product might be lower than that of the US by more than a third, but the state provides significant subsidies for education, health care, transportation, and childcare. French salaries are higher than...

The process of creating a unified Germany is on track but far from complete. After the initial euphoria wore off, the enormity of the task ahead set in. Improving the poor state of industry and the infrastructure in the former East...

Indonesia is the world’s fourth-largest nation when it comes to population. Only China, India, and the US are larger. The country is a young nation currently experiencing a “demographic bonus,” meaning that 50 percent of its people are...

Indonesia, a member of the G20, has the sixteenth-largest economy in the world and the largest in Southeast Asia. The economy has been transformed since the country’s independence in 1945. Indonesia has a market capitalist economy with a...

Since Germany has emerged as the economic powerhouse of Europe, the standard of living of the German people has improved enormously. Germany’s per capita income is among the top ten in the world. Signs of affluence are everywhere....

Singapore has almost no poverty. In fact, its people are relatively rich. Most are either middle-class or better. The Singapore government urges islanders to be competitive and alert to economic opportunities and to strive to improve...

In Mexico, socioeconomic status, including where a person lives, attends school, shops, and works, is determined in large part by ethnic background. Sadly, for rural Indians, this almost always means living forever in poverty. Only a...

In this lecture, you will learn how to approach this problem of dealing with missing data and look at some practical examples.

While Brazil is the largest economy in South America, the disparity between rich and poor is huge. Poverty, especially urban poverty, is a serious, ongoing problem. Some 17 percent of the population lives below the nationally defined...