Exploring Economics: Will the Next Generation Be Worse Off? (FutureLearn)

Offered by Griffith University,
Exploring Economics: Will the Next Generation Be Worse Off? (FutureLearn)

Will the next generation be better or worse off than their parents? Look at both sides of the debate and decide for yourself. The next generation faces uncertain economic prospects. This online course explains why. You’ll get an introduction to the global economy, how it experiences spikes and dips in economic growth and how this affects prosperity worldwide.

Class Deals by MOOC List - Click here and see FutureLearn's Active Discounts, Deals, and Promo Codes.

We will look at reasons to be optimistic and reasons to be pessimistic. We will discuss to what extent the next generation can expect to be better or worse off than the current generation.
You’ll get to share your views on what’s more likely and hear how prominent economists and other scholars can have different views on this question.

What topics will you cover?

  • Reality check: why the next generation is likely to be worse off
  • What might lie ahead: an unequal society incapable of innovation
  • Why the market will not save us and the need for government intervention
  • A history of government failures: learning from past mistakes
  • Rethinking economic growth and economic policy
  • A new approach to promote growth and support socioeconomic transformation

What will you achieve?
By the end of the course, you'll be able to...

  • Explore the economic prospects of the next generation in a global context with emphasis on Australia and industrial countries.
  • Describe the rationale for government intervention in the economy and provide relevant examples of intervention.
  • Explain the criteria for success/failure regarding government intervention in economic policy.
  • Discuss the economic policy options that may allow the next generation to have an improved economic outlook.
Go to Class
MOOC List is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Related Courses

Narrative Economics (Coursera) Coursera
Yale University

Narrative Economics (Coursera)

This course, Narrative Economics, is relatively short and proposes a simple concept: we need to incorporate the contagion of narratives into our economic theory. You can think of narratives as stories that shape public beliefs, which in turn influence our decision making. Understanding how people arrived at certain decisions in the past can aid our understanding of the economy today and improve our forecasts of the future.

Nov 2nd 2026
4 Weeks
The Economics of Health Care Delivery (Coursera) Coursera
University of Pennsylvania

The Economics of Health Care Delivery (Coursera)

In this course, you’ll learn about the key components of health care, and the economics behind their principles and pricing strategies. Professors Ezekiel Emanuel of Penn Medicine and Guy David of the Wharton School have designed this course to help you understand the complex structure of the health care system and health insurance. Through study and analysis of providers and insurance through an economic lens, you’ll learn how basic economic principles apply to both principles and payment methods.

Oct 19th 2026
4 Weeks
Concepts in Sustainable Development: An Introduction to the Key Issues (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
University of Leicester

Concepts in Sustainable Development: An Introduction to the Key Issues (FutureLearn)

Explore some of the key issues in sustainability, tackling the big questions with examples from around the world. Get an introduction to the key issues in sustainability. In this course you will study the conceptual foundations of sustainable development, and discuss the issues around sustainability as a complex problem.

Jan 25th 2021
5-12 Weeks
Data Literacy Capstone – Evaluating Research (Coursera) Coursera
Johns Hopkins University

Data Literacy Capstone – Evaluating Research (Coursera)

This is the final course in the Data Literacy Specialization. In this capstone course, you'll apply the skills and knowledge you have acquired in the specialization to the critical evaluation of an original quantitative analysis. The project will first require you to identify and read a piece of high-quality, original, quantitative research on a topic of your choosing. You’ll then interpret and evaluate the findings as well as the methodological approach. As part of the project, you’ll also review other students’ submissions. By the end of the project, you should be empowered to be a critical consumer and user of quantitative research.

Oct 19th 2026
3 Weeks
Microeconomics: The Power of Markets (Coursera) Coursera
University of Pennsylvania

Microeconomics: The Power of Markets (Coursera)

We make economics decisions every day: what to buy, whether to work or play, what to study. We respond to markets all the time: prices influence our decisions, markets signal where to put effort, they direct firms to produce certain goods over others. Economics is all around us. This course is an introduction to the microeconomic theory of markets: why we have them, how they work, what they accomplish.

Oct 26th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Model Thinking (Coursera) Coursera
University of Michigan

Model Thinking (Coursera)

We live in a complex world with diverse people, firms, and governments whose behaviors aggregate to produce novel, unexpected phenomena. We see political uprisings, market crashes, and a never ending array of social trends. How do we make sense of it? Models. Evidence shows that people who think with models consistently outperform those who don't. And, moreover people who think with lots of models outperform people who use only one. Why do models make us better thinkers? Models help us to better organize information - to make sense of that fire hose or hairball of data (choose your metaphor) available on the Internet.

Oct 19th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Economic Growth and Distributive Justice Part II - Maximize Social Wellbeing (Coursera) Coursera
Tel Aviv University

Economic Growth and Distributive Justice Part II - Maximize Social Wellbeing (Coursera)

If you really care about the big questions in the economies and societies of the 21st century, such as distributive justice - namely, inequality of income or wealth, and its correlation with economic growth - this course is meant for you. The knowledge you will gain can truly change your outlook on our world.

Oct 26th 2026
5-12 Weeks
After the Arab Spring – Democratic Aspirations and State Failure (Coursera) Coursera
University of Copenhagen

After the Arab Spring – Democratic Aspirations and State Failure (Coursera)

Learn why the hope and excitement of the Arab Spring is gone, why so many Arab states are falling apart, why the youth are so frustrated, why there are so many refugees, and what can be done about it. The so-called Arab Spring appeared to end decades of exceptionalism and bring the Arab world back into the mainstream of global developments. The rebellions promised the return of politics and the reassertion of popular sovereignty against their corrupt and geriatric leaders. Much hope and flowery language greeted the young men and women who deposed their leaders and tried to build new, better societies.

Oct 26th 2026
5-12 Weeks