The Economics of Uncertainty

Course Overview

Learn how to cope with economic uncertainty and risk in these 24 advice-filled lectures from a master economist.

Economies are complex systems with many rational and irrational actors, leading to unpredictable outcomes. Economic uncertainty, as vividly demonstrated during the 2008 financial crisis, can dramatically affect personal finances, job security, and investments. While we can’t control uncertainty, understanding its nature equips us to effectively respond. This course offers 24 practical lectures that demystify economic uncertainty, providing tools to manage risk in various aspects of life.

Video Lectures

1. Man, Nature, and Economic Uncertainty
   • Duration: 33 min
   • Introduction to “black swan” events and strategies for dealing with uncertainty.

2. Turning Uncertainty into Risk
   • Duration: 30 min
   • Transforming uncertainty into manageable risks through knowledge.

3. Five Ways to Face the Unknown
   • Duration: 29 min
   • Five techniques for effective risk management in all life areas.

4. Probability: Frequency or Belief?
   • Duration: 30 min
   • Understanding frequentist and subjective probabilities.

5. How We Misjudge Likelihood and Risk
   • Duration: 30 min
   • Methods of decision-making and estimating probabilities.

6. The Reward in Risk
   • Duration: 33 min
   • Analyzing risk-return tools in finance.

7. Decision Science Tools
   • Duration: 31 min
   • Tools for assessing the value of risky projects.

8. Gambling Economics
   • Duration: 31 min
   • Insights from gambling applicable to investments and risk behaviors.

9. Game Theory: Reveal or Conceal?
   • Duration: 30 min
   • Applying game theory to competitive transactions.

10. Adverse Selection: Hiding in Plain Sight
    • Duration: 31 min
    • Understanding adverse selection and correcting its effects.

11. Moral Hazard: Whom Do You Trust?
    • Duration: 31 min
    • Overview of moral hazards and preventive measures.

12. The Principal-Agent Problem: When Mice Play
    • Duration: 31 min
    • Examining the principal-agent problem in various contexts.

13. Compensation Traps
    • Duration: 32 min
    • The effects of compensation contracts on employee behavior.

14. Caring, Sharing, and Risk Bearing
    • Duration: 33 min
    • Altruism as a risk-sharing mechanism, analyzed through economics.

• Mayhem! Insurance Protection
  • Duration: 30 min
  • Exploring various types of insurance and their functions.

16. Uncertainty in the Numbers
    • Duration: 31 min
    • Using statistics wisely when measuring economic uncertainty.

17. The Business Cycle’s Wheel of Fortune
    • Duration: 32 min
    • Understanding the unpredictable nature of the business cycle.

18. The Danger of Inflation
    • Duration: 31 min
    • Causes of inflation and its economic impact.

19. Extreme Markets
    • Duration: 30 min
    • Strategies for navigating unpredictable financial markets.

• Regulation, Innovation, Excess
  • Duration: 32 min
  • How government policies create economic uncertainty.

21. Global Trade in Employment
    • Duration: 32 min
    • Free trade and its implications for job security and market dynamics.

22. No Limits to Growth
    • Duration: 32 min
    • Addressing long-term societal challenges like overpopulation and resource scarcity.

23. Hedging Business and Personal Risks
    • Duration: 30 min
    • Tools for hedging financial risks effectively.

24. Stress Testing Your Finances
    • Duration: 33 min
    • Learn to “stress test” your finances to prepare for economic disruptions.