Progressive Money

Follow the course

An ordered path from the basics to real Australian debates. About 16 h 25 min including the questions, plus about 8 h 45 min more if you watch the long lectures marked optional. Go at your own pace: mark lessons complete as you go and pick up where you left off.

Prefer to explore? Every topic also works on its own: browse the topics or search the library. Want a baseline first? Take the optional starting check.

  1. Part 1

    Start here

    Five videos (the longest is 25 minutes) and one written lesson that give you the basic picture: what money is, where it comes from, why a government that issues its own currency is not a household, and what really limits its spending.

    About 1 h 55 min

    1. Money in the modern economy: an introduction - Quarterly Bulletin Video11 min
    2. The MYTH of Barter, and why it harms us Video33 min
    3. How To Create A Currency From Scratch (Long Version) Video16 min
    4. Stephanie Kelton: The big myth of government deficits | TED Video20 min
    5. Money creation in the modern economy - Quarterly Bulletin Video11 min
    6. Pause: connect the first five ideas Exercise10 min
    7. What limits government spending? Demand, capacity, inflation and jobs Read13 min

  2. Part 2

    The money system, step by step

    Seventeen short explainers on the economic ideas the lessons rely on, from what money is to what really limits spending.

    About 52 min

    1. The Money System in Five Minutes Read12 min
    2. Foundations: the ideas everything else builds on Read40 min

  3. Part 3 · Topic 1

    What is money?

    You start with the Bank of England's plain account of modern money as a set of IOUs, then Brett Scott's case against the textbook barter story. Stephanie Kelton's classroom experiment shows the tax-driven theory of why people accept a currency, and Randall Wray's optional lecture gives the history and theory behind it.

    About 1 h 30 min

    1. Before the videos: key ideas Key ideas4 min
    2. Money in the modern economy: an introduction - Quarterly Bulletin VideoAlso in Start here
    3. The MYTH of Barter, and why it harms us VideoAlso in Start here
    4. How To Create A Currency From Scratch (Long Version) VideoAlso in Start here
    5. Professor L Randall Wray | The History and Nature of Money | January 2024 VideoLong lecture · optional1 h 20 min
    6. Where this is contested: Where did money come from: barter, credit or the state? Debate8 min

  4. Part 3 · Topic 2

    Government spending

    You start with Stephanie Kelton's TED talk and a written lesson on what limits spending: demand, capacity, inflation and jobs. Brett Scott then separates MMT as description from MMT as prescription, a senior Treasury official sets out how Treasury itself describes fiscal policy, and Bill Mitchell gives the MMT case in his own words.

    About 1 h 50 min

    1. Before the videos: key ideas Key ideas5 min
    2. Stephanie Kelton: The big myth of government deficits | TED VideoAlso in Start here
    3. What limits government spending? Demand, capacity, inflation and jobs ReadAlso in Start here
    4. Modern Monetary Theory - A Primer Video28 min
    5. Fiscal Policy Video36 min
    6. Bill Mitchell: Demystifying Modern Monetary Theory Video31 min
    7. Where this is contested: Does government debt matter for a country like Australia? Debate8 min

  5. Part 3 · Topic 3

    Banks & debt

    Start with the Bank of England's five-minute account of how loans create deposits, then see the same mechanics as bookkeeping in a walk-through of Richard Werner's research. Randall Wray then explains Hyman Minsky's theory of how debt builds up in good times, and Ann Pettifor asks who bank-created money is for.

    About 1 h 5 min

    1. Before the videos: key ideas Key ideas5 min
    2. Money creation in the modern economy - Quarterly Bulletin VideoAlso in Start here
    3. How Do Banks Create Money? A Walk-Through of Richard Werner's Papers Video18 min
    4. Crash Course on Hyman Minsky, L. Randall Wray Video13 min
    5. Ann Pettifor - The Production of Money Video20 min
    6. Where this is contested: Does private debt matter more than public debt? Debate8 min

  6. Part 3 · Topic 4

    Inflation

    Begin with the RBA's own explainer on the inflation target, the mainstream anchor for this topic. Then Isabella Weber's short animation, and her optional hour-long webinar, set out a contested explanation of the 2021–23 inflation, and a 2012 ABC report with Bill Mitchell questions what inflation targeting costs in jobs.

    About 2 h 5 min

    1. Before the videos: key ideas Key ideas5 min
    2. Australia's Inflation Target Video18 min
    3. Sellers Inflation [Isabella Weber] Video10 min
    4. Isabella Weber: The Economics and Politics of Seller's Inflation VideoLong lecture · optional1 h 10 min
    5. Professor Bill Mitchell - Inflation Targetting Video12 min
    6. Where this is contested: Was Australia's 2021–23 inflation mainly about too much demand, or about supply shocks? Debate8 min

  7. Part 3 · Topic 5

    Jobs & the economy

    The primer explains how the ABS counts jobs and unemployment and how the RBA links unemployment to inflation, followed by a short written lesson on the NAIRU logic. A 57-second news clip then tests that logic. Bill Mitchell's two videos argue that unemployment is a policy choice and explain the Job Guarantee, and Pavlina Tcherneva's hour-long lecture is optional depth.

    About 2 h 20 min

    1. Before the videos: key ideas Key ideas5 min
    2. How the RBA thinks about unemployment and inflation Read12 min
    3. Property developer says unemployment should rise Video7 min
    4. Professor Bill Mitchell - The Government Chooses the Unemployment Rate Video27 min
    5. MMT: What Is A Job Guarantee (or "Labor Standard")? Video14 min
    6. Pavlina Tcherneva — The Case for a Job Guarantee VideoLong lecture · optional1 h 5 min
    7. Where this is contested: Do we need some unemployment to keep inflation low? Debate8 min

  8. Part 3 · Topic 6

    Tax

    The primer sets out the jobs taxes do, from restraining inflation to their legal role in the budget, and separates MMT's claim about currency issuance from those roles. Then Warren Mosler's short clip on taxes and inflation, Greg Jericho on negative gearing, Michael Hudson on economic rent, and Richard Denniss on Australia's tax mix.

    About 1 h 15 min

    1. Before the videos: key ideas Key ideas5 min
    2. Universal Healthcare Probably Requires LOWER Taxes, Not Higher Video12 min
    3. Negative Gearing Explained | Greg Jericho on the Project Video14 min
    4. Michael Hudson Part 4 Economic Rent Video11 min
    5. Australia's tax dilemma: the case for real reform | Richard Denniss National Press Club Address Video27 min
    6. Where this is contested: Do taxes fund government spending? Debate8 min

  9. Part 3 · Topic 7

    The global economy

    Read the primer first: it covers exchange rates, the current account, foreign debts and the different degrees of monetary sovereignty that the videos assume. Then watch Chang on why economists disagree, Mosler's three-minute case that imports are a benefit, and Kaboub on the IMF and the Global South. Mitchell's 88-minute lecture on the Eurozone is optional depth.

    About 2 h 35 min

    1. Before the videos: key ideas Key ideas6 min
    2. RSA ANIMATE: Economics is for Everyone! Video19 min
    3. Real Terms Of Trade: Imports are a Benefit, Exports are a Cost Video11 min
    4. Whose interest does the IMF really serve? Fadhel Kaboub explains Video17 min
    5. Joan Muysken Lecture: "The Eurozone, Groupthink and denial on a grand scale" VideoLong lecture · optional1 h 35 min
    6. Where this is contested: How much freedom does issuing your own currency really give a country? Debate8 min

  10. Part 3 · Topic 8

    Housing

    All three videos run an hour or more, so the primer below does more of the teaching than in other topics: read it first. Then watch Kohler for the history and the tax argument, Murray for the case that building more will not fix prices, and Keen on mortgage credit. If you only have time for one, watch the first 20 minutes or so of Kohler.

    About 3 h 50 min

    1. Before the videos: key ideas Key ideas6 min
    2. Webinar Series: The Great Divide: Australia's housing mess and how to fix it. With Alan Kohler VideoLong lecture · optional1 h 10 min
    3. Cameron Murray - The Great Housing Hijack | Australia's Biggest Book Club VideoLong lecture · optional1 h 10 min
    4. What Economists Aren't Telling Us About the Property Market | Steve Keen, Economist VideoLong lecture · optional1 h 15 min
    5. Where this is contested: Should housing policy focus on building more homes, or on reducing demand? Debate8 min

  11. Part 4

    The competing schools of thought in economics

    Classical, Keynesian, monetarist, New Keynesian, post-Keynesian and MMT: what each school believes and why. Learn how the RBA and mainstream economists reason about inflation, interest rates, debt and jobs, then see where MMT and post-Keynesian economists disagree, and where they don't.

    About 2 h 25 min

    1. Why economists disagree Read5 min
    2. Classical and neoclassical economics Read5 min
    3. Keynesian economics Read5 min
    4. Monetarism Read6 min
    5. New Keynesian macroeconomics Read6 min
    6. Post-Keynesian economics Read6 min
    7. Modern Monetary Theory Read10 min
    8. Aggregate demand and aggregate supply Read6 min
    9. Inflation expectations Read6 min
    10. The Phillips curve Read6 min
    11. NAIRU Read6 min
    12. How the RBA uses interest rates to fight inflation Read12 min
    13. Fiscal multipliers Read6 min
    14. Government borrowing and bond markets Read7 min
    15. Fiscal sustainability Read7 min
    16. Exchange-rate and external-sector constraints Read7 min
    17. Economic growth and productivity Read6 min
    18. Labour markets and unemployment Read6 min
    19. Competing explanations of inflation Read7 min
    20. Put it together Read20 min

  12. Part 5

    Economics in the Real World

    Ten familiar Australian policy claims to test what you have learned: weigh the evidence, compare mainstream and MMT readings, and reach your own conclusion.

    About 2 h

    1. How will Australia pay for Medicare? Scenario12 min
    2. The government has to balance its budget like a household. Scenario12 min
    3. Public debt will burden future generations. Scenario12 min
    4. Higher wages inevitably cause inflation. Scenario12 min
    5. Unemployment has to increase to control inflation. Scenario13 min
    6. If governments can create money, why can't they build 500,000 houses tomorrow? Scenario13 min
    7. We must raise billionaire taxes before funding new public services. Scenario12 min
    8. Australia needs foreign investment because it is running out of money. Scenario12 min
    9. Higher interest rates are the only effective way to control inflation. Scenario12 min
    10. A trade deficit means a country is losing. Scenario12 min

  13. Part 6

    Can You Explain How the Economy Works?

    Ten explanation tasks, with model answers and a rubric, so you can judge for yourself how well you can explain what the course covers.

    About 1 h 30 min

    1. Can You Explain How the Economy Works? Self-assessment1 h 30 min

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