Paul Krugman Masterclass Review: Is It Worth It?

The main goal of Paul Krugman’s Masterclass is to teach you how to think like you are an economist.

This is in terms of facing many different issues, with examples being; taxation, income inequality, fixing the impact of recessions, reforming healthcare, and plenty more.

You will get plenty of materials and information in this almost 4 hour Masterclass, but it is presented in a way that will not overwhelm the reader.

Paul hopes that his Masterclass will help us properly understand the problems which we are facing currently in society.

He does this by giving you the mindset of an experienced economist through what he is teaching and uses this information to decode exactly what is happening in the world currently. 

Paul Krugman is an experienced economist, as well as a Nobel laureate, and a columnist for the New York Times.

This is his foray into online classes and it is clear that he has put a lot of effort into giving a course that is as enlightening as it is entertaining. 

If you want to be able to better interact with modern goings on especially those in relation to the economy, this will be a perfect course for you to try. It goes into a good amount of detail but does not overwhelm you with information.

Let’s know the importance of fundamental principles to the economic crisis and economic prosperity in this detailed Paul Krugman Masterclass review!

Overview

It is worth noting that you will need a Masterclass subscription to access this course, (we will go over this more in the pricing section) and the course will have 22 separate lessons which total a little under 4 hours in runtime.

You also have the option to cancel your Masterclass subscription within 30 days, so if you are worried about regretting the cost…  don’t sweat it. If you are interested in economics, this is one of the best online courses to start with.

There is a common misconception that comes with a discussion surrounding disruptive miracle economic geography or economic theory issues that it will simply be too dry for a standard audience to enjoy, and the perspective will not be that accessible.

However, if you follow Krugman’s work, you will know that his more engaging writing style makes his approach a lot easier to digest and this is reflected in his course.

If you are not someone who closely follows Krugman, your only exposure to him may be one of his quotes from 1998 about the internet that is often taken out of context.

The intention of these quotes about the internet becoming irrelevant was supposed to be framed in a more provocative light but is often treated as a serious prediction.

In spite of this negative perception, we can see that this prediction did not stop Krugman, and he is still well respected currently.

What Should You Hope Learn In Krugman’s Masterclass?

The main aspect that Paul Krugman delivers on is moving through what can be seen as nonsense in economics and giving the student the tools to dig through headlines and perceive what the story is actually about.

We can too easily be thrown off by headlines, but by going through Paul Krugman’s course, we should become better equipped to understand what these news stories are intentionally and unintentionally telling us.

Paul Krugman Masterclass Cost

If you want to know the Paul Krugman Masterclass worth, you will need to have access to Masterclass.

The cost of an individual Masterclass subscription is $180 annually at about $15 monthly; if you get the Duo subscription you can access the account from 2 devices for $240 annually. And finally, you can get the Family account which can be accessed from 6 devices. 

The only feature offered by the more expensive options which is not by the Individual account is offline viewing. If you really prioritize offline viewing, it might be worth roping in a friend and splitting the cost for the Duo.

However, if you are not too bothered by offline viewing, the Individual subscription is worth it. That said, still, see if there is anyone who you could split the quite steep cost with.

This may seem quite expensive just for the Paul Krugman course, but of course, this is not all that is included; you get access to over 90 current Masterclass courses throughout the year, so you are not just paying for an annual pass to one course.

It is worth noting that the Paul Krugman course like most other Masterclass courses comes with some supplemental materials as well with Paul Krugman offering an extensive 79-page workbook which is a perfect reflection of what is referenced in the course.

While what is repeated from the course is useful here, we also love how it references third-party resources, making it even more extensive and creating some great further reading.

Even just the things like trade theory and crisis economic solutions theories make this course even more interesting.

Under the cost of the almost 4-hour course, you also get access to the Paul Krugman community access page. This hub lets you interact with others who are doing the same course.

It is essentially a forum that lets you post questions you could have, or engage in some debates, and since this is a pretty heavily debated subject, there are some great discussions going on here related to the course.

The Course Itself

As previously mentioned, the course is 22 lessons at an average length of 11 minutes, you also get the option to speed up the playback which is great for a more impatient viewer.

The first few lessons will set the groundwork and will talk about some of the more basic elements of economics and being an economist.

We get to see Krugman talk us through some economics major developments in terms of economics starting all the way back in the 1700s and working to the present.

After this, we move into more concepts of macroeconomics and look at more specific examples of economic events in recent history like the financial crash in 2008.

After this, the course finishes with Paul Krugman giving some tools to help students attain a better perspective to engage with economics in the future.

While the 4-hour runtime is not the most intense lesson plan, if you just want a more abridged version of this course, we recommend watching lessons; 3, 5, 7, 11, and 16 for a quicker but still informative experience.

However, if you are getting Masterclass just for Paul Krugman’s class we would not advise doing this.

Summary

There is plenty to love when it comes to Paul Krugman’s course and the insight you get from such an informative economist is unmatched by many other offerings.

Of course, there are some lessons here you could learn for free or from another source, but Masterclass is offering a more unique insight into all of this with some unique lessons thrown in as well.

If you are looking to learn more about economics and the workings of society, and want some better foundational knowledge of financial concepts, then this is a great course, but if you are not interested in more liberal thinking around these subjects you may be alienated by some of the more political aspects, in spite of how insightful they could be.