Incentives Unlock the Mysteries of Human Behavior

  • Why is Disney World cleaner than Yellowstone National Park?
  • Why are there so many chickens and so few pheasants?
  • Why is buying “real” Christmas trees (rather than artificial trees) better for the preservation of trees and forests?
  • Why did the requirement that young children have their own seat (and seatbelt) rather than sitting on parents’ laps in airplanes cause an increase in childhood deaths?
  • Why does requiring that new cars be manufactured with pollution control technology installed result in increased automobile-generated air pollution?
  • Why do programs providing government insurance for bank deposits increase the likelihood of bank failure?
  • Why do farmers plant high-water-use crops in areas where water is in short supply – rice in the desert climate of southern California, for example?
  • Why do so many patriotic Americans not vote in Presidential elections?
  • Why is a legislated increase in minimum wage bad news for poor, low-skilled teenagers?
  • Why did the English colonies of North America prosper while the colonies of Spain remained poor despite great discoveries of gold and silver?
Right Start in Teaching Economics

From Curiosity to Calling, Discovering Economics Online

April 21, 2026 When Maya Clark logged into her Economics for Leaders virtual program, she was curious.  By the end of the…

High Schoolers Need Economics, Not Just ‘Financial Literacy’

The Daily Signal April 20, 2026 By Jamie Wagner April is National Financial Literacy Month, when the federal government and…

FTE Launches New Civics Program To Help Students “Think Like the Founders” Ahead of America250 

March 30, 2026 Davis, CA. – The Foundation for Teaching Economics (FTE) is announcing the new Civics & Economics in Action program to revitalize civic…