Our Activities
EFI is an inspiring and fast-growing campaign to improve economic understanding among young people and their teachers. Working with partners in 11 countries, we are united in the belief that economic and financial literacy are the key to increasing personal and national prosperity.
“Common Sense Economics”
The core principles of economics and finance explained in native languages
First published in 2005, the 4th edition of “Common Sense Economics” was published in July 2024. Written by academic economists James Gwartney, Richard Stroup, Dwight Lee, Tawni Ferrarini and Joseph Calhoun, “Common Sense Economics” provides a solid introduction to the fundamentals of market economics and finance. Its goal is to guide its readers to make wise personal and policy choices based on a sound understanding of economic principles. Adapted to enhance its relevance to readers across our region, the book is available in English, Albanian, Armenian, Azerbaijani, Georgian, Russian, Ukrainian, Uzbek, Kazakh and Kyrgyz. It can be read online or downloaded for free. Macedonian and Montenegrin editions will be added in early 2025.
Economics Olympiad
A fast-growing international high school competition
The Economics Olympiad is an annual competition for high school students in over 20 countries. Multiple in-country rounds culminate in an international final held in one of the participating countries. EFI is proud to be supporting 10 countries in 2024. Almost 20,000 students participated this year.
Learning Center
Watch, read and learn. Bite-sized learning of economic and financial concepts
EFI’s multimedia library is a treasure trove of short videos and articles which explore the fundamentals of economics and finance. The catalog is sourced from relevant organizations and is free of charge, allowing us to invest in subtitling and translation and to bring our supporters’ content to new audiences.
Teacher Training
Best practice tools and techniques for teachers of economics
Since its launch, EFI’s country partners have been working to support teachers to enhance their teaching of economics. Our Teacher Toolkit is based on “Common Sense Economics”, and includes slide decks, instructor guides and practice problems. It has already been successfully used to introduce over 500 students to Economics in one of Georgia’s leading public high schools. EFI is now piloting a capacity-building project to expand the teaching and learning of economics in high schools. Our ambition is that this project, being tested in Georgia, Kosovo and Ukraine, will serve as a pathfinder for other countries seeking to raise national standards of economic and financial literacy.
Economic Reporting Workshops
Capacity building for journalists
EFI supports its country partners to provide professional development opportunities for both trainee and seasoned journalists. Harnessing local and international experts, the goal of our economic reporting workshops is to share practical techniques to make economic reports more accessible and relatable to wider audiences. Our ambition is that these activities will encourage greater peer networking and mentoring opportunities for a profession which has a strong influence on public opinion.