Helsinki GSE offers a wide range of open access e-learning materials to start the journey of learning economics.
Miten talous toimii? (‘How Does the Economy Work?’) - free online course
On this course, you will learn how we earn money, how wealth is divided in the world and how big problems emerge and can also be solved. Major upheavals are taking place around us, either with significant financial consequences or as a result of changes in the economic system. The climate crisis cannot be regarded as the least of them. To influence our environment and promote social change, we need to understand how its central element, the economy, works.
This practical and highly topical online course in Finnish has been divided into seven parts. The chapters cover economic systems and their history, the functioning of markets, investment, and banking activities as well as the emergence of economic growth and economic cycles. The last chapter discusses specific questions related to climate change, population ageing and digital waste from the economic perspective. After completing the course, the student has a good general idea of the basics of the economy and new tools for perceiving different societal phenomena.
The course has been designed by the Helsinki GSE team of professors in such a way that while it is useful for anyone interested in economics, its content is specifically designed for upper secondary school students. The course, independently studied, discusses the story of the impact of the economy on our lives. In addition to the text, the contents consist of graphs, images, interviews, and videos. Videos produced by economist Sixten Korkman open the financial causes and consequences of cyclical changes in the economy and the climate crisis for the student. You can earn 2 study credits via Aalto Open University or Helsinki University’s Open University
The course can be found at Talouskurssi.fi.
Talous ('The Economy') - free economics e-book
The Economy CORE Econ's original free open access text for a one-year introductory undergraduate course is finally available in Finnish. The e-learning material includes capstone units on globalization, inequality, the environment, innovation and the networked economy, and the role of government. Helsinki GSE has translated the book into Finnish, and it is available to everyone.
Used in introductory courses at many top universities, this textbook examines the major issues facing society using the core tools of economics. The Economy is a constantly updated reference book that takes as its starting point the question of economic differences between and within countries. By familiarizing themselves with the book, readers will gain an up-to-date basic understanding of how the economy works, how economic problems work and how economics studies them. The book's phenomenon-based approach to societal challenges such as climate change, global poverty, unemployment, or economic crises encourages students to learn more and apply what they have learned in practice.
The eBook has been translated by Marja Ollila and Maarit Tillman. The translators have previously worked on the translation of Thomas Piketty's Capital in the 21st Century. The work was supported by Aalto University, the University of Helsinki, and the Bank of Finland.
The book is available online for free.