Hallycon Academy

Curso 3 · Principiante

The global economy in plain words

Growth, inflation, interest rates, jobs, trade and debt: the big numbers on the evening news, what they mean, and how they reach your wallet.

  • 8 lecciones
  • 56 min
  • Gratis
  • Un certificado al terminar

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Para quién es

Para quien oye hablar de inflación, tipos de interés y recesión en las noticias y quiere saber qué significan en la vida diaria. No hace falta saber nada de antemano.

Las lecciones

Cada lección tiene un vídeo breve, un cuestionario y enlaces para saber más. Las lecciones completas se abren tras un registro gratuito.

  1. Lección 1: GDP: what an economy produces

    7 min

    GDP adds up the value of everything a country produces in a year. What it tells you, what it misses, and what "1% growth" means in daily life.

    Puntos clave

    • GDP is the value of all goods and services produced in a country in a year.
    • Growth is the change in GDP after inflation ("real" growth).
    • GDP per person, and what GDP leaves out, matter as much as the total.

  2. Lección 2: Inflation: why prices rise

    7 min

    How inflation is measured with a shopping basket, what pushes it up, and what happened in 2022.

    Puntos clave

    • Inflation is the price change of a fixed basket of goods and services (HICP in the EU, CPI in Switzerland).
    • Prices rise when demand outruns supply, when costs like energy jump, or when too much money chases too few goods.
    • Euro-area inflation peaked at 10.6% in October 2022; Swiss inflation at 3.5% in August 2022 (Eurostat; FSO).

  3. Lección 3: Interest rates: the brake and the accelerator

    7 min

    Central banks raise rates to cool prices and cut them to support growth. How one decision ripples to mortgages, jobs, shares, bonds and the currency.

    Puntos clave

    • Higher rates make borrowing dearer and saving more attractive, which slows spending and prices.
    • The full effect takes a year or more to work through.
    • Rate changes move house prices, bond prices, share prices and exchange rates, which is why markets watch every decision.

  4. Lección 4: Jobs, wages and your pay rise

    7 min

    Unemployment, wage growth, and why a pay rise only counts if it beats inflation.

    Puntos clave

    • The unemployment rate counts people who look for work and can't find it.
    • Real wage = pay rise minus inflation; in early 2023 real wages were falling in 30 of 34 OECD countries (OECD Employment Outlook 2023).
    • Low unemployment tends to push wages and prices up; high unemployment holds them down.

  5. Lección 5: Booms, recessions and the economic cycle

    7 min

    Economies grow, overheat, shrink and recover. What a recession is, when the euro area had them, and what happened to jobs and markets.

    Puntos clave

    • A recession is a broad fall in activity; two quarters of shrinking GDP in a row is a rule of thumb.
    • The euro area had recessions in 2008–09, 2011–13 and 2020 (Euro Area Business Cycle Dating Committee, historical).
    • In past cycles share prices often fell before a recession was announced and turned up before it ended: history, not a rule.

  6. Lección 6: Trade, currencies and the strong franc

    7 min

    Europe lives from trade. Why exports matter so much to Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Switzerland, and how exchange rates and tariffs change the picture.

    Puntos clave

    • Exports and imports tie every European economy to the rest of the world.
    • A strong currency makes imports cheaper and exports harder to sell; Swiss firms live with this every day.
    • Tariffs are taxes on imports, and they are often passed on to buyers through higher prices.

  7. Lección 7: Governments: taxes, spending and debt

    7 min

    States tax, spend and borrow. What a deficit and public debt are, why EU rules set limits, and why it touches your savings.

    Puntos clave

    • A deficit is one year's overspending; debt is the pile of all past deficits.
    • EU rules use reference values of 3% of GDP for deficits and 60% for debt; in 2025 Belgium and France were above both (Eurostat, October 2026).
    • Government bonds hold much of Europe's pension and savings money, so state finances touch your savings.

  8. Lección 8: How economies are tied together

    7 min

    Trade, money and confidence connect every economy. How the 2008 crisis, the 2020 pandemic and the 2022 energy shock crossed borders.

    Puntos clave

    • The US dollar is on one side of about 89% of all currency trades, so US interest rates reach everyone (BIS, April 2025).
    • Shocks travel through trade, banks and markets: 2008 started in US housing and reached European banks within months.
    • In 2022 an energy shock pushed up prices across Europe at the same time.

Qué encontrará

  • Vídeos breves: Unos dos minutos por lección
  • Cuestionarios: Tres preguntas después de cada lección
  • Calculadoras: Inflación, interés compuesto, fondo de emergencia y comisiones
  • Certificado: Por cada curso que complete

Las lecciones completas, los vídeos y los cuestionarios se abren tras un registro gratuito: su nombre, correo electrónico, móvil y un PIN. Sin tarjeta, sin compromiso.

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