Top 10 TED Talks on Money, Finance, and Economics

Have you ever wondered how things in the world have gotten to be the way they are today? If the economic recession will ever end? Why you make the decisions that you do? Here to answer these questions are ten easy-to-understand, often humorous videos, giving us expert opinions on how we can save money, make better decisions, and combat the current recession.

Richard Wilkinson: How Economic Inequality Harms Societies

In this video, Richard Wilkinson shows real-world data on the effects of economic inequality, and how everything from health, to life expectancy, to trust, gets worse the larger class separation is.

Shlomo Benartzi: Saving For Tomorrow, Tomorrow

Shlomo Benartzi give us the low-down on what he calls “Behavioral Finance.” How can we take our understanding of the financial mistakes people make and turn those same challenges into solutions?

Featured Programs

Jacqueline Novogratz on Escaping Poverty

Jacqueline Novogratz shares the touching story of a woman named Jane, an African woman forced into prostitution, and reminds us that when we talk about poverty we have to look at the entire economic spectrum.

Bill Gates: How State Budgets are Breaking US Schools

Businessman Bill Gates shows the accounting tricks that are used to balance state budgets running a deficit, and how education funding is what gets cut in an attempt to cover the difference.

Steven Levitt: The Freakonomics of McDonalds vs. Drugs

Author Steven Levitt gives a humorous lecture demonstrating that being a drug dealer pays less than minimum wage, that gangs are like McDonalds, and that being sentenced to death row is comparatively safe.

Hans Rosling: New Insights On Poverty

Researcher Hans Rosling uses colored bubbles to show how poorer countries are typically healthier than rich countries. Technology is what can pull countries out of poverty, but progress comes at the expense of the earth’s climate.

Daniel Goldstein: The Battle Between Your Present and Future Self

Every decision we make has an impact on our Future Selves. Will we save for our Future Selves, or spend now to satisfy our Present Selves? Daniel Goldstein uses the Behavioral Time Machine to help us understand how our current decisions determine our future well-being.

Iqbal Quadir Says Mobiles Fight Poverty

Iqbal Quadir shares stories of his youth in Bangladesh, and his later life as an investment banker, to demonstrate that mobile phones are a tool against poverty by protecting workers against lost or wasted time.

John Gerzema: The Post-Crisis Consumer

John Gerzema tells us about “The Great Unwind” wherein consumers cease to be afraid and start taking action, leading to positive change in the country’s economy. He names four interesting cultural shifts that motivate consumer behavior, and shows how businesses are spending more thoughtfully.

Benjamin Wallace: The Price of Happiness

Is it truly possible to buy happiness? Benjamin Wallace embarks on a quest to sample the most expensive and coveted products in the world including Kobe beef, Zimbabwean blue jeans, and a $6,000 toilet. His conclusions might not be what you expect.