This is a new video about the subject, by Mark Blyth, who teaches at Brown University, in the United States, and which I discovered through Martin McMorrow, who also devised the accompanying activity.
I know, I know I'm going to come in for a lot of flak, as this five-minute video clip is more suitable for advanced students. But I have made up my mind to publish it for a number of reasons:
- It is going to help us understand the worldwide economic crisis.
- A transcript is available.
- There are a lot of visual aids in Mark Blyth's presentation.
- And more importantly: it can help Intermedio 2 students prepare their listening paper exam. How? Students can infer part of Mr Blyth's actual words from the questions in the accompanying activity. Tasks are very often a great help for students as they inform them of the content in the audio file. At the same time, they can also use the questions in the task as a guideline throughout the talk, so that they don't get lost and know where they are at all times, irrespective of the fact that they know the answer to a specific question or not.
1 What was the size of the debt caused by the financial crisis of 2008?
a) $2bn b) 2,000% c) $2tn
2 The bottom 40% of US population… since 1989
a) hasn’t had a real wage increase b) improved productivity c) paid any interest
3 Blyth compares leverage to playing blackjack. What is Blackjack?
a) a criminal activity b) a form of gambling c) a violent sport
4 Governments felt they had to intervene to help banks because the banks were too big to…
a) fail b) see c) buy
5 Blyth believes governments and businesses need to pay down their debt
a) as soon as possible b) at different times c) at the same time
6 The fallacy of composition is the false belief that was is good for one part of the economy is …
a) bad for another b) good for all c) bad for all
7 Blythes argues that governments have chosen austerity measures because…
a) they are easier than raising taxes b) raising taxes is more virtuous c) they allow citizens to contribute equally
8 According to Blythe austerity measures make the poor pay for the problems of debt…
a) through higher taxes b) which they caused c) twice
You can read the transcript here.
Key:
1c 2a 3b 4a 5b 6b 7a 8c
