Economics Summer School - Detailed Outline (In-Person)

This page provides a detailed outline of the in-person Economics Summer School, a five-day course for students aged 15–18 who have completed the fill GCSE or at least one year of A-level Economics, or who have equivalent experience with the subject.

This course is designed for students with prior experience of studying Economics; those who are new to the subject should take the Introduction to Economics course instead.

The programme below shows how the course develops across the week, from examining the foundations of economic thinking, through financial markets and global trade, to economic development and financial crises. The emphasis throughout is on understanding how economic ideas are used in practice, and how different approaches shape the decisions made by governments, institutions, and individuals.

Prefer to view and download the PDF version of the Economics Summer School outline? You can do so here.

Jump to a particular section:

Day One – Economic Thinking and Real-World Decisions
Day Two – Financial Markets – Wealth, Risk, and Power
Day Three – International Trade, Supply and the Global Economy
Day Four – Economic Growth and Development
Day Five – Financial Crisis and Systemic Risk

The course reflects an undergraduate approach to economics, focusing on discussion, interpretation, and decision-making rather than exam technique. Teaching takes place through small-group seminars, structured activities, and applied simulations, giving students a clear sense of how the subject is studied at university level.

Please note that for some groups, sessions may run in a different order. Sessions may also be altered to reflect and respond to changes in current affairs and the economic situation.

10.30 – 1.00 Looking Beneath the Surface of Economic Thinking

Students arrive at the Summer School with a strong foundation in economics, whether from school or from independent study, and this first session builds on that experience by approaching familiar ideas in a different way. Rather than treating economics as a process of selecting and applying memorised models, the emphasis is on thinking more like policymakers and economic actors within a system, who must decide what to do and how to interpret the information available to them.

In this context, economic theory is not an end in itself, but a set of tools that can be used to inform and constrain decisions. Students explore how those tools are shaped by underlying priorities, often inherited from ways of thinking that may appear natural or self-evident, and how different approaches bring certain aspects of a problem into focus while obscuring others. To understand the likely effects of using any particular analytical lens, it is necessary to examine the assumptions on which it rests.

From there, the discussion steps back to some of the most basic features of economic life, and asks questions that are often taken for granted. What actually is money, and why does it work? What does it mean to be in debt, when the system that records and enforces those obligations depends on shared trust? Students are encouraged to see these concepts not as fixed or self-explanatory, but as systems sustained by collective belief and ongoing agreement.

This opens up a broader question about what happens when that belief is tested. If confidence in a system begins to weaken, the effects can be far-reaching, reshaping behaviour and altering what people are willing to accept. By examining these ideas at a fundamental level, students begin to see how even the most familiar parts of the economy depend on fragile foundations, and how quickly those foundations can come under pressure.

1.00 – 2.00 Lunch

2.00 – 4.30 What Can Governments Do When Things Go Wrong?

In the afternoon, students move from exploring the foundations of economic theory to applying those ideas in a more practical context, as they take on the role of decision-makers responding to a crisis.

The session begins by examining what happens when a country faces serious economic trouble. When governments can no longer meet their financial obligations, maintain confidence in their economy, or stabilise key parts of the system, the range of available options narrows quickly. Students explore the different strategies that might be pursued in such situations, from borrowing and restructuring debt to cutting spending, raising taxes, or seeking external support.

These decisions are rarely purely economic. Measures that may appear necessary from a financial perspective often carry significant political and social consequences, and governments must act under pressure, with limited time and incomplete information.

Within this broader framework, students examine the role of institutions such as the International Monetary Fund, which can provide financial support in exchange for economic reforms. Through a negotiation simulation, students take on the roles of governments, lenders, and domestic actors, and attempt to reach an agreement under conditions of urgency and uncertainty. As they do so, they encounter the tension between economic survival and political feasibility, and gain a clearer sense of how crisis management decisions are made in practice.

10.30 – 1.00 Pricing, Risk, and Decision-Making

This session begins from the perspective of the people operating within financial markets. Students are asked to think not just about what markets are, but about what it means to participate in them – to decide what something is worth, to take on risk, and to try to make a profit in an uncertain environment.

Students are introduced to the main types of financial assets, including shares, bonds, and more complex instruments, but the emphasis is on how these are actually used. Rather than asking whether an investment is simply “good” or “bad”, the session explores how strategies depend on specific objectives. An investment that appears risky or unattractive in one context may be entirely sensible in another, depending on time horizon, tolerance for risk, and the outcomes an investor is trying to achieve.

As the session develops, students begin to see that financial decisions are rarely made in isolation. Different instruments can be combined in ways that reshape the overall risk of a position, allowing investors to protect themselves against certain outcomes while remaining exposed to others. Even relatively complex products, such as options, are introduced not as abstract technicalities but as tools that can be used to manage uncertainty and adjust the balance between risk and reward.

By the end of the session, pricing is understood not as a mechanical calculation, but as a process shaped by judgement, objectives, and the need to act under conditions of incomplete information.

1.00 – 2.00 Lunch

2.00 – 4.30 Strategy, Speculation, and the Behaviour of Financial Actors

In the afternoon, the focus turns to what happens when many individuals and institutions are all making these kinds of decisions at the same time. Students explore how market outcomes emerge from interaction, as traders and investors attempt to anticipate one another’s behaviour.

The session examines how strategies develop in response to uncertainty, and how expectations about others can become more important than underlying economic conditions. Prices are shaped not just by what assets are “worth”, but by what market participants believe others will be willing to pay. This can drive rapid increases in price, the formation of speculative bubbles, and sudden reversals when confidence shifts.

Building on the ideas from the morning, students consider how different strategies interact with one another, and how attempts to manage risk at the individual level can sometimes contribute to instability at the system level. What appears to be a sensible position for one investor may, when widely adopted, amplify collective risk rather than reduce it.

By the end of the session, financial markets are understood not simply as systems of exchange, but as complex environments in which individual decisions, shaped by differing objectives and constraints, combine to produce outcomes that are often difficult to predict.

10.30 – 1.00 International Trade – How Goods Move Through the World

This session begins with the idea that underpins much of modern economic thinking about trade: that countries can benefit from specialising and exchanging goods, even when one is more productive across the board. Students are encouraged to engage directly with this principle, moving beyond memorised diagrams to develop a more intuitive understanding of why trade can increase overall prosperity.

From there, the session shifts away from the abstract model and into the real world. Students explore how patterns of trade are shaped not just by efficiency, but by geography, infrastructure, and political decisions. Natural resources, transport routes, and historical relationships all play a role in determining what is produced where and how easily it can be exchanged.

The discussion also considers the period in which global trade expanded rapidly, as barriers were reduced and international institutions sought to create a more integrated system. Students examine how this process reshaped economies and lifted growth in many regions, while also creating new forms of dependency and vulnerability.

By the end of the session, students have a clearer sense that trade is not simply a question of whether it is beneficial, but of how it operates in practice, and what constraints shape its outcomes.

1.00 – 2.00 Lunch

2.00 – 4.30 Global Supply, Price Shocks, and Economic Pressure

In the afternoon, attention turns to what happens when the movement of goods is disrupted. Students explore how supply chains operate across multiple countries and why certain commodities, such as energy, food, and key industrial inputs, have an outsized influence on the global economy.

The session examines how shocks to supply – whether caused by geopolitical tension, changes in production, or disruptions to transport routes – can feed through into rising prices and economic instability. Rather than treating inflation as a purely domestic phenomenon, students consider how global systems shape the cost of living and the policy choices available to governments.

Alongside this, students explore the ways in which countries respond to these pressures. Some attempt to secure access to critical goods through alliances and trade agreements, while others seek greater self-sufficiency, accepting the costs of reduced integration in exchange for greater control. Through discussion and case studies, students are encouraged to weigh these trade-offs, considering how economic, political, and strategic priorities interact in shaping national decisions.

By the end of the day, students develop a more grounded understanding of how the global economy functions as a system, and how changes within that system can have far-reaching and often unpredictable consequences.

10.30 – 1.00 Economic Growth in Challenging Contexts

This session explores one of the central and most contested questions in economics: why do some countries achieve sustained growth while others remain trapped in cycles of instability or stagnation? Students examine a range of factors, including investment, infrastructure, education, and political stability, and consider how these elements interact over time to shape economic outcomes.

Through case studies, the discussion moves beyond simple explanations to consider why similar policies can produce very different results in different contexts. Rapid industrialisation may drive growth in one country, while leading to instability or inequality in another. Access to global markets may create opportunities for expansion, but also expose economies to external shocks and dependencies.

Students are also introduced to the idea that growth is not the same as development, and that increases in output do not necessarily translate into improvements in living standards. This opens up a broader conversation about how economic success should be measured, and whether alternative approaches – including those focused on inequality, wellbeing, or sustainability – offer a more complete picture of progress.

The discussion also considers whether growth should always be the primary objective. Students are encouraged to reflect on the social and environmental costs of economic expansion, and to question whether GDP alone provides an adequate measure of success.

1.00 – 2.00 Lunch

2.00 – 4.30 The Future of Development – A Policymaker’s Dilemma

In the afternoon, students step into the role of policymakers, faced with the challenge of shaping the future of a developing economy. The decisions they make carry real consequences, and each choice involves trade-offs between competing priorities that cannot easily be reconciled.

As the exercise unfolds, it becomes clear that development is not simply a technical problem with a correct solution. Policies that encourage investment may increase growth but widen inequality. Raising wages may improve living standards while discouraging foreign capital. Opening up to trade may create opportunities, while also exposing domestic industries to competition they are not ready to withstand.

Political pressures, social constraints, and external dependencies all shape what is possible, often limiting the effectiveness of even well-designed policies. By the end of the session, students have a more realistic understanding of how economic decisions are made, and why development is often uncertain, uneven, and contested, even when the goals themselves appear straightforward.

10.30 – 1.00 The 2008 Financial Crisis – Causes and Consequences

This session reconstructs the events of the financial crisis, tracing how a period of rapid growth and apparent stability gave way to systemic collapse. Students explore how risk accumulated within the financial system, how it was distributed and disguised, and why so many institutions failed to recognise the scale of the problem until it was too late.

Rather than focusing on a single cause, the session presents the crisis as the result of interacting forces, including financial innovation, regulatory decisions, and the incentives facing different actors. Lending practices, complex financial products, and the widespread belief that risks had been successfully managed all contributed to a system that appeared stable, but was in fact increasingly fragile.

Students are encouraged to think about the crisis not simply as a historical event, but as an example of how complex economic systems can fail. The discussion raises the question of whether such failures are the result of particular decisions, or whether they are an inherent feature of systems built on uncertainty, leverage, and confidence.

1.00 – 2.00 Lunch

2.00 – 4.30 Who’s to Blame? The Financial System on Trial

The course concludes with a mock trial in which students take on the roles of banks, regulators, governments, and other key actors. Each group must defend its actions while questioning the behaviour of others, building a case for where responsibility lies.

As the debate develops, it becomes clear that blame cannot be assigned neatly to a single group. The crisis emerges as the product of incentives, assumptions, and decisions made across the system, many of which appeared rational at the time but proved collectively disastrous.

The final discussion turns to the present. Students consider how financial systems have changed since the crisis, and whether those changes are sufficient to prevent similar events in the future. Have risks been reduced, or simply shifted into new and less visible areas? By the end of the session, students are left not with a simple conclusion, but with a deeper understanding of how economic systems evolve, and with the tools to question how resilient they really are.

This outline provides a detailed view of the themes, ideas, and case studies explored during the in-person Economics Summer School. The programme is designed to introduce students to the ways economists think about markets, institutions, and global systems, combining theoretical insight with discussion, analysis, and applied exercises that reflect the complexity of real-world economic decision-making.

You can also return to the main in-person Economics Summer School page for full details about the course and how to apply.