Welcome to Economic Thinking
Economic Thinking enables speech and debate students to better understand interconnected current events and public policies. Economic principles help students see why current and proposed government policies and programs lead to unintended consequences. Since 2003, Economic Thinking workshops on each year’s national debate topics have encouraged students to research relevant economic principles and history.
Economic Thinking has long recommended books, online resources, and competitions offered by economic freedom organizations.
For example, Stossel in the Classroom (SITC) Student Contests (essay and video) offer awards for high school and middle school age students.
Entry deadline is March 31, 2023, and SITC essay categories for this year are: Meaning of the Constitution, Inflation: what is it, who caused it, who is hurt?, Economics in the Wild (details at link). SITC Video Contest: 1-3 minutes on same topics, including college division.
Economic Thinking Programs
Economic Thinking workshops are hosted each fall by interested debate clubs, and videos are often available on our YouTube channel. Current debate topics are listed above the Economic Thinking logo and some posts are from past debate topics and are still relevant to multiple resolutions.
Economics offers a toolkit for thinking about everyday activities as well as current events and public policy. Government policies enacted to protect steel and aluminum industries and jobs, for example, raise steel and aluminum costs for other U.S. industries, making their products less competitive here and overseas. Protectionist policies like the Foreign Dredge Act and Jones Act protect U.S. firms and jobs at the cost of improved services and navigation at ports and rivers.
Economic Thinking also works with American Logos, a nonprofit organization that prepares debate students to compete in World Schools debate, mostly in Central and Eastern Europe. More about American Logos and how to apply for next year’s team on their website and Facebook page. Also this American Logos 2023 Conversation, hosted by Steven Vaughan of Monument Publishing.
A longtime goal of Economic Thinking has been to network nonprofits that provide economics resources (including the Foundation for Economic Education, the Acton Institute/PovertyCure, Atlas Network, Independent Institute, Manhattan Institute, and many others).
Some recommended books on trade, globalization, economic inequality and the welfare state…
