Additional Reading Links - Economics

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Syllabus

The reading assignments for Biblical Foundations for the Economic Way of Thinking include links to online articles as well as reading in the assigned book. If you have any trouble accessing the material, please contact us at info@tifwe.org.

Please note: a teacher’s guide (paperback), including a grading rubric with suggested answers and guidelines, is included with the purchase of the curriculum.

Module 1 – God’s Design and Desire: The Purpose of Economics
  1. Genesis 1-4
  2. Brian Baugus, “Can Genesis Teach Us Anything about Economics?”
  3. Art Lindsley, “The Call to Creativity”
  4. Jonathan Pennington, “A Biblical Theology of Human Flourishing”
  5. Hugh Whelchel, “Four Principles of Biblical Stewardship”
  6. Hugh Whelchel, “Carrying Out the Cultural Mandate Is Essential for Biblical Flourishing”
  7. Shawn Ritenour, “An Unexpected Source of Human Flourishing”
  8. The Heritage Foundation, “Where Does the U.S. Rank in World Economic Freedom?” (Note: This resource has been updated. The video originally listed in the syllabus, “Economic Freedom and Quality of Life,” is no longer available).
  9. IFWE, “Freedom to Flourish” (video)
Module 2 – Self-Interest and God-Honoring Decisions
  1. Art Lindsley, “C. S. Lewis, Greed, and Self-Interest”
  2. Samuel Gregg, “Self Interest, Rightly Understood”
  3. Anne Bradley, “Goldman Sachs, Self-Interest, and Greed”
  4. Hugh Whelchel, “What Is Biblical Self-Interest?”
  5. Jay W. Richards, “Selfishness, Self-Interest, and Significance”
  6. Aeon J. Skoble, “Libertarian Philosophy: Why Thieves Hate Free Markets” (video)
  7. Milton Friedman, “Greed” (video)
Module 3 – The Foundational Ideas of Economics
  1. James D. Gwartney, Richard L. Stroup, and Dwight R. Lee, Common Sense Economics, Part 1
  2. Leonard E. Read, “I, Pencil”
  3. Anne R. Bradley, “You Can Spend Six Months and $1,500 Making a Chicken Sandwich…but Should You?”
  4. Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations, Book 1, Chapters 1–4
  5. Donald J. Boudreaux, “Comparative Advantage”
  6. Russell Roberts, “Incentives Matter”
  7. Steven Horwitz, “Economists and Scarcity: The Concepts of ‘Scarcity’ and ‘Resources’ Are Often Misunderstood”
  8. IFWE, “I, Smartphone” (video)
  9. Tyler Cowen, “Introduction to Microeconomics” (video)
Module 4 – The Role of Trade in Human Flourishing
  1. Russell Roberts, “Treasure Island: The Power of Trade, Part I: The Seemingly Simple Story of  Comparative Advantage”
  2. Russell Roberts, “Treasure Island: The Power of Trade, Part II: How Trade Transforms Our Standard of Living”
  3. R. Mark Isaac, “Does the Bible Condemn Trade?”
  4. David R. Henderson, “Opportunity Cost”
  5. David R. Henderson, “TANSTAAFL, There Ain’t No Such Thing as a Free Lunch”
  6. Hugh Whelchel, “What Are the Economic Implications of the Fall?”
  7. Art Carden, “Trade Is Made of Win, Part 1: Wealth Creation” (video)
  8. Thomas Sowell, “There are No Solutions, Only Tradeoffs” (video)

***The Excel sheet with instructions on setting up the bags for the trading game (page 21) is still in production. We’re sorry! Please email us at info@tifwe.org for help in the meantime.***

Module 5 – Decentralized Knowledge, Property Rights, and Prices
  1. Friedrich August von Hayek, “The Use of Knowledge in Society”
  2. Art Lindsley, “Private Property”
  3. Walter Kaiser, “Ownership and Property in the Old Testament Economy”
  4. Russell Roberts, “Where Do Prices Come From?”
  5. Donald J. Boudreaux, “Information and Prices”
  6. Shawn Ritenour, “Three Reasons Private Property Is Essential for Human Flourishing”
Module 6 – The Market Process, Subjective Value, and Unplanned Order
  1. Max Borders, “Subjective Value”
  2. Brian Baugus, “How Does the Market Work?”
  3. Russell Roberts, “The Reality of Markets”
  4. Anne Bradley, “The Market Process and the Path to Flourishing”
  5. Russell Roberts, “A Marvel of Cooperation: How Order Emerges without a Conscious Planner”
  6. Friedrich August von Hayek, “Kinds of Order in Society”
  7. Anne Bradley, “Is the Economy a Pie?”
  8. Hans Rosling, “ 200 Countries, 200 Years, 4 Years, 4 Minutes” (video)
  9. Tom J. Bell, “Can Order Be Unplanned?” (video)
  10. Donald J. Boudreaux, “Subjective Value” (video)
  11. Steven Horwitz, “Spontaneous Order and the Market Process” (video)
Module 7 – Prices, Property Rights, and Profits
  1. David R. Henderson, “Demand”
  2. Robert Sirico, “Why Profits are Not Exploitative”
  3. Armen A. Alchien, “Property Rights”
  4. Robert Sirico, “Prices Keep Profits Fair”
  5. Anne Bradley, “Making a Profit: An Unexpected Way to Help Others”
  6. Michael Munger, “They Clapped: Can Price-Gouging Laws Prohibit Scarcity?”
  7. Alex Tabarrok, “The Demand Curve” (video)
  8. Alex Tabarrok, “The Supply Curve” (video)
  9. Alex Tabarrok, “The Equilibrium Price” (video)
  10. Tyler Cowen, “A Deeper Look at the Demand Curve” (video)
  11. Tyler Cowen, “The Demand Curve Shifts” (video)
  12. Alex Tabarrok, “A Deeper Look at the Supply Curve” (video)
  13. Marginal Revolution University, “The Supply Curve Shifts” (video)
  14. Alex Tabarrok, “Exploring Equilibrium” (video)
Module 8 – Economic Freedom and Stewardship
  1. James D. Gwartney, Richard L. Stroup, and Dwight R. Lee, Common Sense Economics, Parts 2 and 3
  2. Alan S. Blinder, “Free Trade”
  3. Anne Bradley and Joseph Connors, “Economic Freedom and the Path to Flourishing”
  4. Anne Bradley, “Five Reasons Christians Should Embrace Economic Freedom”
  5. This link has been removed from the original source. We’re researching for an updated link or new resource. Thanks for your patience!
  6. This link has been removed from the original source. We’re researching for an updated link or new resource. Thanks for your patience!
Module 9 – Entrepreneurship and Innovation
  1. Ludwig von Mises, “Profit and Loss”
  2. Wolfgang Kasper, “Competition”
  3. Brian Baugus, “Entrepreneurship within a Biblical Worldview”
  4. Elise Daniel, “Meet the Generation Bringing Back Entrepreneurship in America”
Module 10 – Midterm
Module 11 – Economic Freedom and the Developing World
  1. Sara Corbett, “Can the Cell Phone Help End Global Poverty?”
  2. Laurence Chandy and Geoffrey Gertz, “With Little Notice, Globalization Reduced Poverty”
  3. Robert E. Lucas Jr., “The Industrial Revolution:  Past and Future”
  4. Derek Thompson, “The Economic History of the Last 2,000 Years: Part II”
  5. Tolu Ogunlesi and Stephanie Busari, “Seven Ways Mobile Phones Have Changed Lives in Africa”
  6. The World Bank, “Mobile Phone Access Reaches Three Quarters of the Planet’s Population”
  7. Hans Rosling, “200 Years, 200 Countries, 4 Minutes” (video)
  8. Hans Rosling, “Hans Rosling and the Magic Washing Machine” (video)
  9. Donald J. Boudreaux , “The Hockey Stick of Human Prosperity” (video)
Module 12 – The Roots of Poverty
  1. Jonathan Pennington, “Sell Your Possessions and Give to the Poor’: A Theological Reflection on Jesus’ Teaching Regarding Personal Wealth and Charity”
  2. Theology of Work Project, “God’s Law Calls People of Means to Provide Economic Opportunities for the Poor”
  3. Glenn Sunshine, “Who are the Rich and the Poor?”
  4. Art Lindsley, “Five Myths about Jubilee”
  5. Theology of Work Project, “Productive Opportunities for the Poor”
Module 13 – The Role of Economic Freedom in Alleviating Poverty
  1. Kristine Zambito, “When It Comes to Alleviating Poverty, Here’s How Your Church Can Avoid Help that Hurts”
  2. Steven Horwitz, “Contemporary Economic Myths”
  3. Elise Daniel, “Economic Freedom is Not Enough for Human Flourishing”
  4. Robert A. Lawson, “Economic Freedom”
  5. Anne Bradley, “Freedom and Flourishing”
  6. Jeffrey Dorfman, “Free Markets Unquestionably Help the Poor”
  7. IFWE, “Flourishing” (video)
Module 14 – Government and the Economy
  1. P. Moreland, “A Biblical Case for Limited Government”
  2. Robert P. Murphy, “The Costs of Government”
  3. Donald J. Boudreaux, “Free Trade and Globalization: More than Just ‘Stuff’”
  4. Robert Higgs, “Government Growth”
  5. James Madison, “Federalist #10”
Module 15 – Government and Unintended Consequences
  1. Frédéric Bastiat, The Law
  2. Frédéric Bastiat, “What Is Seen and What Is Not Seen”
  3. Anne Bradley, “Does the Minimum Wage Hurt the People It’s Trying to Help?”
  4. Brian Griffiths, “Christianity, Socialism, and Wealth Creation”
  5. Antony Davies , “Unintended Consequences of Price Controls” (video)
  6. Alex Tabarrok, “Price Ceilings” (video)
  7. Alex Tabarrok, “Price Ceilings: Rent Controls” (video)
  8. Alex Tabarrok, “Price Floors: The Minimum Wage” (video)
  9. Alex Tabarrok, “Price Floors: Airline Fares” (video)
Module 16 – Final Reflections
  1. Peter J. Boettke, The Battle of Ideas: Economics and the Struggle for a Better World
  2. Art Lindsley, “The Biblical View of Freedom”
  3. EconStories, “‘Fear the Boom and the Bust’ Hayek vs. Keynes Rap Anthem” (video)
Module 17 – Final Exam