How I Use Monday Morning Economist in Class
Below is a curated list of Monday Morning Economist articles I assign for each week in my economics courses. The goal isn’t to replace textbooks. It’s to help students see economic thinking in everyday life using current events and pop culture examples they already recognize.
Several of these articles also have ready-to-use classroom resources through the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE). Their FEE Learning Center editions include short reading quizzes and classroom activities. Teachers can sign up for free.
Week 1: Opportunity Cost & Trade-offs
There’s No Such Thing as a Free Italian Ice
Week 2: Supply and Demand
The Psyche 16 Asteroid Isn’t Worth $10,000,000,000,000,000,000
Week 3: Elasticity
The Diamond-Water Paradox in Retail Security
Week 4: Economic Efficiency
Cuba’s Economic Makeover 🇨🇺
Week 5: Price Controls
Inflation’s Got the U.K. in a Pickle: Can Price Controls Save the Day?
Week 6: Taxes
Everything But the Bagel Tax
Week 7: Environmental Economics
What do lobsters 🦞, whales 🐳, and elephants 🐘 have in common?
Week 8: International Trade
We Can’t Build Bananas in America
Week 9: Costs of Production
Houston Doesn’t Own Snow Plows—and That’s Okay
Week 10: Perfect Competition
Why Stores Are Dropping Your Favorite Items (and Lowering Prices)
Week 11: Monopoly Power
Hey Siri, Is Apple a Monopoly?
Week 12: Imperfect Competition
How Ricos Dominates the Stadium Nacho
Week 13: Price Discrimination
Why Top Universities Are Slashing Costs to Attract More Students
Week 14: Game Theory
Why Scam Texts About Unpaid Tolls Just Won’t Stop
Week 15: Behavioral Economics
The Economics of “Girl Math”
Teachers: You’re welcome to use any of these readings in your own classes, adapt them to your syllabus, or pair them with FEE Classroom materials.
Everyone else: You’re welcome to follow along. New posts go out every Monday.