Learn
Economics explained through consequences.
The game teaches during play: each policy move changes the economy, then a short theory card explains why.
How Learning Mode Works
Make a policy decision.
Watch indicators change.
Read the theory card.
Apply the concept next round.
Learning Path
Start with four indicators, then grow into finance and crisis strategy.
My Saved Concepts
Use Add To Glossary on theory cards during Learning Mode to save concepts here.
Textbook-Inspired Foundations
Simple explanations before the expert language appears.
These lessons paraphrase core ideas from the economics and CFA materials: no textbook text is copied, only the concepts are rewritten for beginners.
Economics starts with trade-offs
A government cannot maximize every goal at once. Lower unemployment, lower inflation, faster growth, lower debt, and higher approval often pull in different directions. The game teaches this by making every policy improve some indicators while putting pressure on others.
Aggregate demand is the spending side of the economy
Consumption, investment, government spending, and net exports form total demand. Tax cuts, spending increases, and lower interest rates usually push demand up. That can raise GDP and jobs in the short run, but it can also create inflation if the economy is near capacity.
Aggregate supply is the capacity side
Infrastructure, education, competition, technology, and stable institutions help the economy produce more over time. These policies are slower than stimulus, but they can raise long-run growth without creating as much inflation.
Financial markets price risk
Stocks, bonds, currencies, and banks react to policy because investors compare expected return with risk. High debt, unstable inflation, weak banks, or unpredictable policy can raise borrowing costs and reduce confidence.
Diversification protects against one bad outcome
A household, investor, or country is safer when it does not depend on one asset, one sector, or one source of financing. Diversification does not remove risk, but it reduces the damage from a single shock.
Banks connect finance to the real economy
Banks turn deposits into loans. If lending is responsible, households and firms can invest and spend. If lending becomes reckless, defaults can damage banks and force the whole economy into a credit crunch.
Case Studies
Small stories that connect policy, theory, and real-life finance.
BeginnerAggregate demand
Case Study: Tax cut during weak growth
The economy has high unemployment and low inflation. The president cuts income taxes to give households more disposable income.
When spare capacity exists, extra consumption can raise GDP and reduce unemployment. But if the same tax cut happens when inflation is already high, it may mostly push prices up and widen the deficit.
Basic policyMonetary policy
Case Study: Raising rates to fight inflation
Inflation is above target and the currency is weakening. The central bank raises interest rates.
Higher rates can reduce borrowing and cool demand, which helps inflation. The cost is weaker investment, lower stock prices, more expensive loans, and possibly higher unemployment.
FinanceBonds and debt sustainability
Case Study: Bond-funded infrastructure
The government issues bonds to finance infrastructure. Roads, energy systems, or digital networks can raise future productivity.
Borrowing can be smart when it builds future capacity. It becomes risky if debt rises faster than growth or if investors demand higher yields because they doubt repayment discipline.
FinanceConsumer credit and banking stability
Case Study: Easy credit boom
Banks loosen lending rules. Consumption rises and GDP improves at first.
Easy credit can boost demand, but excessive household debt creates default risk. If households cannot repay loans, banks weaken and a financial crisis can spread to the real economy.
Financial literacyRisk, return, and diversification
Case Study: Diversified savings
A household holds all savings as cash during high inflation, while another mixes cash, bonds, and diversified equities.
Cash is stable in nominal terms but loses purchasing power when inflation is high. Diversified portfolios still carry risk, but they can reduce dependence on one outcome and help protect long-run wealth.
Policy toolsFiscal stabilization
Case Study: Automatic stabilizers
A recession raises unemployment. Tax revenue falls automatically and welfare payments rise without a new law.
Automatic stabilizers soften the fall in household income and demand. They can reduce the need for rushed policy changes, but they also widen the budget deficit during downturns.
FinanceBank runs
Case Study: Deposit insurance and panic
Rumors spread that several banks may fail. Households rush to withdraw deposits, even from banks that might otherwise survive.
Deposit insurance can stop panic by reassuring depositors, but it must be paired with regulation. If banks know deposits are protected and rules are weak, they may take too much risk.
Glossary
Short definitions for the terms players meet in-game.
Aggregate demand
Total spending on an economy's goods and services: consumption, investment, government spending, and net exports.
Aggregate supply
The economy's productive capacity. Better infrastructure, skills, technology, and competition can raise it over time.
Inflation
A rise in the general price level. High inflation reduces purchasing power because money buys less than before.
Unemployment
The share of workers who want a job but cannot find one. Policy can reduce it, but pushing demand too hard may raise inflation.
GDP growth
The rate at which the economy produces more goods and services. Growth usually helps jobs and confidence.
Consumption
Household spending on goods and services. Taxes, interest rates, confidence, and credit conditions can all change consumption.
Investment
Spending by businesses or government that increases productive capacity or future income.
Government spending
Public spending on services, transfers, infrastructure, and investment. It directly affects aggregate demand.
Fiscal policy
Government choices about taxes, spending, transfers, borrowing, and public investment.
Monetary policy
Central-bank choices such as interest rates, reserve rules, and bond purchases.
Money supply
The amount of money available in the economy. If it grows much faster than real output, inflation risk can rise.
Interest rates
The price of borrowing money. Higher rates can cool inflation but make loans and investment more expensive.
Budget deficit
When government spending is greater than government revenue in a year.
National debt
The total amount the government owes from past borrowing.
Stock market
A market for ownership shares in companies. It often reacts to expected profits, interest rates, and confidence.
Bonds
Loans made to governments or companies. Bond buyers receive interest, and risky borrowers must pay higher yields.
Bond yields
The return investors demand for lending money to the government. Higher yields make debt more expensive.
Exchange rate
The value of one currency compared with another. A weaker currency can make imports costlier and exports cheaper.
Investor confidence
How willing investors are to hold a country's assets. It falls when debt, inflation, or crisis risk look unsafe.
Banking stability
How safe the banking and credit system looks. It weakens when defaults, bond losses, or risky lending rise.
Deposit insurance
A promise that household bank deposits are protected if a bank fails. It can prevent panic, but it must be paired with supervision.
Bank run
A panic where many depositors try to withdraw money at once because they fear a bank may fail.
Consumer credit
Loans to households, such as credit cards, auto loans, and consumer borrowing. It can support spending but create default risk.
Financial stability
The ability of banks, markets, borrowers, and investors to keep functioning without a damaging credit or confidence crisis.
Financial literacy
The ability to understand saving, borrowing, investing, inflation, diversification, and risk.
Household savings
Money households keep for the future. Inflation reduces its purchasing power, while sound financial choices can protect it.
Household debt
Money owed by households through mortgages, credit cards, and consumer loans. It can support spending but becomes dangerous when repayment risk rises.
Credit rating
An assessment of how risky it is to lend to a borrower. A weaker rating can push borrowing costs higher.
Diversification
Holding different assets so one bad outcome does not determine the whole portfolio.
Recession
A period when economic activity falls or stays weak. Recessions usually raise unemployment and reduce confidence.