Modern Monetary Theory: Economics for the 21st Century

Demystify macroeconomic principles and terminology and discover how Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) provides explanations for some of the world's most troubling financial concerns.

• Thinking in a macroeconomic way. What should macroeconomic theory be able to explain? Measurement frameworks.
• What is Modern Monetary Theory and what are its implications? Why is it the future of macroeconomics?
• The role of fiscal policy. The path to full employment and price stability. Case studies in unemployment and hyperinflation.
• Monetary policy design and the role of central banks. How does the banking system operate?
• Exchange rate systems and international trade. Global financial markets and the State - who is in charge?
• Policy setting in crises: the challenges of climate change and the pandemic.

What you'll learn

• An entry level understanding of the way modern monetary systems operate.
• An enhanced understanding of the fiscal and monetary policy options available to governments.
• An awareness of why the standard economic statements in the media about government deficits and debt distort our understanding of the actual constraints that government spending faces.
• Ways to assess government policy options, for example, in dealing with the pandemic.
• An appreciation of the issues involved in balancing demands for growth and environmental constraints.

Meet the instructors

Emeritus Professor Bill Mitchell

Professor William Mitchell holds the Chair in Economics and is the Director of the Centre of Full Employment and Equity (CofFEE), an official research centre at the University of Newcastle. He is also the Docent Professor of Global Political Economy at the University of Helsinki, Finland. He is one of the co-founders of Modern Monetary Theory.