'Plain English' Economics
The Project
Between January and May 2021, we piloted a project to produce 'plain English' resources that were requested by teachers involved in teaching global justice at a post-primary level. Feedback from teachers and educators was that they needed more jargon-free, accessible 'straight talking' current-affairs content for the classroom - and we listened!
This project has now been funded for a second year and five more 'Plain English Economics' resources on a variety of topics, such as the new tax rules, vulture funds, climate finance and more have been added below (June 2022).
See below for our 'ready to use' Plain English Economics content. These handy teaching materials are now ready to be used in the classroom.
Plain English Economics
| Link | Themes Explored | Type |
Tax, Debt, Eonomics, IMF | Teacher/educator learning resource on the formation of the World Bank and IMF, Wall Street Crash and The Great Depression | |
Post-war growth, Inflation. Stagnation, Tax, Bretton Woods and Smithsonian Agreements | Teacher/educator resources on Golden Age of Capitalism and The Nixon Shock | |
Finance, Debt, Lending and Growth, Wall Street, Structural Adjustment Programmes, The Volcker Shock, IMF | Teacher/Educator resources on oil price hike and 'gassless Sundays' and stagflation; Wall Street lending | |
Finance, Debt, Economics, | Teacher/educator resource with True/False quiz and discussion and resource activities | |
Climate Finance: The Devil is in the Detail
| Tax, Debt, Interest | Teacher/educator learning resource with video, quiz and follow up activities |
| Reprogramming Tax Table Quiz | Tax, Healthcare | Distilled report Quiz |
We need a green fiscal plan to beat the twin crises of climate and Covid | Climate Change, Macroeconomics, European Policy | Accessed-up article from the Business Post Interactive activity |
| Debt, Colonialism | Case study (Zambia default) Reflection | |
| Debt, Colonialism | Crossword | |
Profiting from the Pandemic: The How and Why of a People's Vaccine | Vaccine, Nationalism, Trade | Case study (TRIPS Waiver) |
Why does the UN chief think a debt crisis for the global south is on the way? | Debt, Economic growth Interest rates | Accessed-up article from Financial Times |
How the Pandemic is worsening Inequality
| Inequality, Labour, | Accessed-up article in video format from Financial Times |
What is the proposal for a Global Minimum Tax Rate? And why is it important for Global Justice? | Tax | Distilled articles and activities throughout (worksheet) Definition-finding Reflective questions Debate |
Global austerity alert! 'Looming public budget cuts' after covid-19, and alternative pathways.
| Austerity, Inequality | Distilled working paper and essay from the Third World Network |
Please email campaign@financialjustice.ie with any feedback on any of the resources.
