General Economics and Financial Literacy
Below you will find C-SPAN Classroom resources relating to the following topics and categories listed above. Click on each title to expand the section and view the featured resources.
Introduction to Economics
Bell Ringer: Principles of Market Capitalism (5:16)
Bell Ringer: Adam Smith and the Wealth of Nations (2:28)
Bell Ringer: Prices in a Free Market Economy (2:33)
Bell Ringer: Free Market Economics (4 Clips)
Bell Ringer: Financial Crises and American Capitalism (3:26)
Clip: Current Perspectives on Socialism and Capitalism (2:45)
Bell Ringer: The Origins of Money (2:49)
Bell Ringer: The Value of Currency (4:06)
Bell Ringer: The Impact of Supply and Demand on Prices (2:14)
Lesson: Price Floors & Price Ceilings (2 Clips)
Bell Ringer: Tragedy of the Commons and the Role of Government in Society (2:03)
Bell Ringer: Supply And Demand And Related Markets (1:12)
Bell Ringer: Trade-Offs and Cost-Benefit Analysis (2:39)
Bell Ringer: Comparative Advantage (2:06)
Bell Ringer: Regression of the Mean (6:18)
Bell Ringer: What are recessions and how can governments respond? (3:10)
Bell Ringer: The Importance of Comparing Business Cycles (3:50)
Bell Ringer: Financial Bubbles (3:35)
Bell Ringer: What does Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Measure? (4:42)
Lesson: Is GDP an Accurate Measure of our Country's Economic Health? (3 Clips)
Bell Ringer: What the Unemployment Rate Tells Us (2:49)
Bell Ringer: Calculating Unemployment And Job Numbers (1:33)
Lesson: Consumer Price Index and Inflation (1:40)
Bell Ringer: Consumer Price Index, Inflation and the Standard of Living (6:09)
Bell Ringer: The Gig Economy (4:13)
Bell Ringer: Bitcoin and the Future of Digital Currency (5:42)
Bell Ringer: Monetary Policy, Fiscal Policy, and the Global Economy (8:42)
Bell Ringer: Exchange Rate Imbalances (3:38)
Business and Trade
Lesson: Trade Policy: Tariffs and Free Trade (9 Clips)
Lesson: Walmart’s “Transformation” (12 Clips)
Lesson: The History of Tariffs in the United States (8 Clips)
Lesson: Replacing NAFTA: The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) (8 Clips)
Lesson: Should the Federal Minimum Wage Be Raised? (5 Clips)
Bell Ringer: What are Tariffs and How do They Work (3:06)
Bell Ringer: Trade Deficits and Economic Performance (2:16)
Bell Ringer: Impacts of Monopolization (3:15)
Bell Ringer: Monopolies and Large Tech Companies (3:36)
Bell Ringer: Monopolies and Their Impact on Farmers (2:36)
Bell Ringer: Monopsonies and Large Technology Companies (2:28)
Bell Ringer: Antitrust Tools of the Federal Government (4:27)
Bell Ringer: The Evolution of the Middle Class (2:59)
Bell Ringer: Technology and the Workforce (5:40)
Bell Ringer: The Small Business Administration and Entrepreneurship (5:05)
Bell Ringer: Factors That Impact U.S. Food Prices (4:48)
Bell Ringer: Cap and Trade Policies to Reduce Carbon Dioxide Emissions (3:16)
Bell Ringer: Globalization as an Economic Tug of War (3 Clips)
Bell Ringer: Adam Smith and Contemporary Globalization (5:56)
Bell Ringer: Commercial Parking and Revenue (6:16)
Clip: An Explanation of the Proposed United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (3:35)
Lesson Plan: Competition, Ticketing, and Antitrust Issues in Live Entertainment (10 Clips)
Fiscal Policy and the Budgetary Process
Clip: The Federal Budget Process (4:05)
Bell Ringer: Office of Management and Budget and the Budget Process (3:53)
Bell Ringer: The 1974 Budget Act and Modern Budget Process (2:33)
Bell Ringer: Role of the Congressional Budget Office (1:21)
Bell Ringer: The Difference between the Deficit and the Debt (1:55)
Clip: The Politics of Reducing the Federal Debt (3:27)
Bell Ringer: What Contributes to Budget Deficits? (2:47)
Bell Ringer: The Debt Ceiling (1:34)
Bell Ringer: The Budget Rescission Process (3:01)
Bell Ringer: Omnibus Bill (3 Clips)
Bell Ringer: Budget Reconciliation and When It Can Be Used (1:34)
Bell Ringer: The Federal Budget and Difference Between an Increase, Freeze and Cut (2:59)
Bell Ringer: Mandatory and Discretionary Spending (2:16)
Bell Ringer: Federal Payroll Taxes (1:38)
Bell Ringer: Unpaid Taxes (3:09)
Bell Ringer: Marginal Tax Rates (2 Clips)
Bell Ringer: The Laffer Curve (1:39)
Bell Ringer: Progressive Tax Rates Around the World (2:55)
Bell Ringer: How the Federal Government Spends Your Taxes (2:51)
Lesson: Congressional Earmarks and Pork Barrel Spending (8 Clips)
Lesson: How Are Your Tax Dollars Being Spent on Federal Social Programs? (11 Clips)
Bell Ringer: What are Entitlements? (1:07)
Clip: The Politics of Reducing the Federal Debt (3:21)
Clip: Who Owns Federal Debt? (1:38)
Clip: What is a Partial Government Shutdown? (4:47)
Lesson: US Tax Rates Compared to Other Countries (7 Clips)
Bell Ringer: Wealth Taxes and How They Work (2 Clips)
Bell Ringer: Budget Process in the U.S. and the U.K. (3:18)
Bell Ringer: How Changes to Federal Tax Law Impact State Tax Laws (1:44)
Monetary Policy and Financial Regulation
Clip: The Federal Reserve Interest Rate Cut and Consumers (4:36)
Clip: President Trump and the Federal Reserve (3:32)
Lesson: Goals and Tools of the Federal Reserve (2 Clips)
Bell Ringer: The Purpose of Central Banks and the Federal Reserve (2:05)
Bell Ringer: Evolving Tools of the Federal Reserve (3:49)
Bell Ringer: How Quantitative Easing is Used by the Federal Reserve (2:02)
Bell Ringer: The Federal Reserve, Monetary Policy, and Recessions (3:44)
Bell Ringer: Federal Reserve Policies and Consumers (4:56)
Bell Ringer: Financial Industry Reform and Regulation (5:22)
Bell Ringer: The Role of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) (1:47)
Bell Ringer: Interest Rates and the Federal Reserve (3 Clips)
Bell Ringer: Federal Reserve and Fiscal Policy During the Recession (4:47)
On This Day: 2008 Financial Crisis (9 Clips)
Bell Ringer: The Role of the Export-Import Bank (2:00)
Bell Ringer: Role the Federal Reserve (1:33)
Bell Ringer: Responsibilities of the Federal Reserve Chair (2:55)
Bell Ringer: No Inflation or Moderate Inflation? (10:32)
Bell Ringer: Role of Digital Transactions in Monetary Policy (2:55)
Bell Ringer: Monetary Policy (3:58)
Bell Ringer: Cryptocurrency and Government Currency (2:46)
Financial Literacy and Personal Finance
Lesson: Financial Literacy (6 Clips)
Lesson: The Future of Social Security (9 Clips)
Bell Ringer: Credit Reporting (1:47)
Bell Ringer: Effects of Bad Credit on Consumers (2:50)
Bell Ringer: Debit vs Credit Card Fees (1:00)
Bell Ringer: Identity Theft (3:07)
Bell Ringer: Financial Behavior and Investments (4:41)
Bell Ringer: Consumers and Mortgage Loans (3:25)
Bell Ringer: Payday Loans (7:34)
Bell Ringer: The Gig Economy (4:13)
Bell Ringer: Saving and Planning for Retirement (1:35)
Bell Ringer: Preparation for Retirement (2 Clips)
Bell Ringer: Tips for Saving for Retirement (3:58)
Bell Ringer: Credit Unions in America (6:45)
Bell Ringer: Federal Payroll Taxes (1:29)
Bell Ringer: Tax Refunds and Withholdings (2:15)
Bell Ringer: Student Loan Debt (7:49)
Bell Ringer: The Difference between Cryptocurrency and Electronic Payment Methods (4:30)
Bell Ringer: What is Cryptocurrency and How does it work? (3:45)
Bell Ringer: Baby Boomers and Retirement Savings (2 Clips)
Clip: College Costs (7:03)
Clip: College Transparency and Student Outcomes (4:39)
Lesson: Should the government forgive federal student loan debt? (6 Clips)
Economics in History
Bell Ringer: The Panic of 1837 and President Van Buren (2:53)
Bell Ringer: The Economics of the Panic of 1837 (4:40)
Bell Ringer: The Panic of 1873 (3:16)
Bell Ringer: The Panic of 1893 (3:27)
Bell Ringer: The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act and the Great Depression (2:06)
Lesson: The History of Federal Entitlement Programs in the U.S. (7 Clips)
Lesson: The Great Depression (1:19)
Bell Ringer: The National Labor Relations Act / Wagner Act (1:48)
Bell Ringer: The Taft-Hartley Act and Right-to-Work Laws (2:26)
Bell Ringer: The 1970s and 1980s Oil Market (6:59)
Bell Ringer: The Greenspan Era (3:10)
Bell Ringer: The Causes of the 2008 Financial Crisis (4:06)
Lesson: 2017 Tax Reform and Jobs Act (11 Clips)
Lesson: Walmart’s “Transformation” (12 Clips)