Lesson Objective: At the completion of this lesson, students will be able to describe and explain how interest rates affect the value of a dollar and how exchange rates affect purchasing value in the global market. Supplies Needed: Lesson Supplies Two different color sheets of paper cut in strips torepresent currency and a bag of candy Student Handout 1 Exchange Rates and Currencies (1 per student) (found in Task 2) Student Handout Answer Key 1 Exchange Rates and Currencies (found in Resource Library) Student Handout 2 Timbuktu Bidding Game - Tally Table (1 per student) (found in Task 4) Student Handout 3 The Timbuktu Bidding Game Analysis (1 per group) (found in Task 5) Student Handout 4 Currency and Exchange Rate Quiz (1 per student) (found in Task 6) Student Handout Answer Key 4 Currency and Exchange Rate Quiz (found in Resource Library) Teacher Resource 1 Big Mac Index Poster (When printing poster, uncheck “fit picture to frame” in the print dialogue box.  Also, print on legal sized paper or larger. Best printed on 11x17 landscape.) (found in Task 3) Video 1 Big Mac Index (1:13) (found in Task 1)   References: Econedlink: Council for Economic Education. (n.d.). Economic Glossary. IMF Center: A public center for economics education. (n.d.). Lessons #1 and 2 focus on the IMF and its role in the global economy. Retrieved from http://www.imf.org/external/np/exr/center/students/hs/think/lesson7.pdf MBA dictionary. (n.d.). Retrieved November 15, 2014, from MBAResearch and Curriculum Center Rinsema, Kate. Alltop: Holy kaw! (n.d.). The big mac index [infographic]. Retrieved from http://holykaw.alltop.com/the-big-mac-index-infographic Travelex: Worldwide money. (n.d.). The Economist: Big mac index. Retrieved from http://www.spring.org.uk/the1sttransportX-Rates. (n.d.). Rates Table. Retrieved from http://www.x-rates.com/table/?from=USD Copyright Permission:Copyright permission has been given for the educational use of the web-based and printed Big Mac Index Chart, contained within this lesson.

This 14-minute video lesson considers how currency effects trade. [Core Finance playlist: Lesson 64 of 184]

This 10-minute video lesson provides a review of how currency effects trade. [Core Finance playlist: Lesson 65 of 184]

This 12-minute video lesson provides an introduction to how exchange rates can fluctuate. [Core Finance playlist: Lesson 63 of 184]

This 7-minute video lesson looks at how the Chinese Central Bank could peg the Yuan to the dollar by printing Yuan and buying dollars (andn thus building up a dollar reserve). [Core Finance playlist: Lesson 66 of 184]

International finance covers some of the most complex but also important topics in economics. How are exchange rates determined? When if ever are ongoing trade deficits harmful? Are fixed or floating exchange rates better? What are the roots of the euro crisis and what resolution can we expect? Does China manipulate its exchange rate and if so how does that matter? We cover all of these topics and more, with an eye toward what a person really might want to know. There is no use of mathematics in this course beyond the very basic.

15.015 Macro and International Economics focuses on the policy and economic environment of firms. This subject divided in three parts. The first part of the course is a study of the closed economy and how monetary and fiscal policy interacts with employment, GNP, inflation, and interest rates. Next, the course provides an examination of national economic strategies for development and growth and recent financial and currency crises in emerging markets. Finally, the course addresses the problems faced by transition economies and the role of institutions both as the engine of growth, and as the constraints for policy.