Economic Freedom Video Series

Bridwell Institute @ Cox

Page in Progress

The Bridwell Institute for Economic Freedom has developed a series of education videos to equip educators with clear, engaging, and research-based tools to teach the economic principles behind progress, prosperity, and human flourishing. Each series is accompanied by a ready-to-use teaching module to ease the implementation.

CREATIVE DESTRUCTION with W. Michael Cox helps students understand why industries rise and fall, why innovation creates and destroys jobs, and how economic change—though often painful—raises living standards over time. It gives students a framework for understanding technological change and preparing for resilient, adaptable futures.
TRADE AND HUMAN FREEDOM with Robert Lawson shows how voluntary exchange, specialization, and globalization increase prosperity and expand opportunity. Students will learn not just how trade works, but why it matters for everyday life—prices, jobs, innovation, and even cultural exchange.
ECONOMIC FREEDOM AND THE WEALTH AND HEALTH OF NATIONS with Robert Lawson explains how economic freedom is measured and why it correlates so strongly with income, health, and overall well-being across countries. Students gain data-driven insight into what helps societies flourish.

These videos develop critical thinking and connect economic concepts to real-world outcomes students can see and measure.

Each series is divided into short, focused parts ideal for class segments, discussion prompts, debate preparation, or home-school lessons.

About the Presenters

Creative Destruction

This five-part video series explores the idea of Creative Destruction—how resources “churn” from less productive to more productive uses over time and how this admittedly painful process leads to greater prosperity.

Part 1 - Innovators and the Obsolete: The Power of Creative Destruction

What happens when progress makes yesterday’s jobs vanish? In this eye-opening kickoff to the series, economist Dr. Michael Cox introduces Creative Destruction—the process by which innovation raises living standards while overturning industries.

Part 2 - Industries Transformed: The Upside and Downside of Innovation

Step into the history of Creative Destruction with Cox as he explores how breakthrough innovations— from railroads and automobiles to airplanes and the internet—reshaped industries and daily life.

Part 3 - What Drives the Churn?

Why do entire jobs and industries vanish—and what takes their place? Michael Cox explores the forces of Creative Destruction that continually reshape the economy: breakthroughs in technology, shifts in global trade, and evolving consumer tastes.

Part 4 - Rising From the Ashes: Creative Destruction and Renewal

Why does progress so often feel like loss in the moment? Cox examines Joseph Schumpeter’s famous “gale of Creative Destruction,” revealing how technological change and shifting industries disrupt jobs while ultimately raising living standards.

Part 5 - Creative Destruction: Surviving and Thriving in an Age of Change

What does Creative Destruction mean for our lives today? In this capstone talk, Cox distills 15 practical lessons for careers, investing, and policy.

Trade and Human Freedom

This three-part video series shows how economic exchange both domestically and internationally makes us happier and richer.

Part 1 - Foundations of Free Trade

In this first part, economist Robert Lawson lays out the core principles of free trade and why it is essential for economic growth and human prosperity. He explains how voluntary exchange, specialization, and comparative advantage create wealth across borders, lifting living standards for people in both developed and developing nations.

Part 2 - The Costs of Protectionism

In the second part, Lawson examines the harmful effects of tariffs, quotas, and other barriers to trade. He highlights how protectionist policies benefit special interests at the expense of consumers, raise prices, and limit opportunity for both workers and businesses.

Part 3 - Globalization and Human Prosperity

In the final part of this trade series, Lawson explores how globalization has transformed economies and improved lives around the world. He traces the impact of expanding global trade networks on poverty reduction, innovation, and cultural exchange, while also addressing the controversies and criticisms often raised against globalization.

Economic Freedom and the Wealth and Health of Nations

This three-part video series discusses how economic freedom is defined and measured in the Economic Freedom of the World index and how economic freedom promotes human flourishing.

About the Presenters

W. Michael Cox was the founding director of the O'Neil Center for Global Markets and Freedom at ��Ʒ�� Cox, serving in that role from 2008. He was an executive-in-residence at the O’Neil Center and Bridwell Institute from 2008-2026. Dr. Cox spent 25 years as Chief Economist and Senior Vice President at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. An ardent advocate for free markets, Cox has extensively documented how capitalism drives progress and enhances living standards. His book, coauthored with Richard Alm, Myths of Rich and Poor: Why We’re Better Off Than We Think, debunks economic pessimism and defends free-market principles.
Robert Lawson holds the Jerome M. Fullinwider Centennial Chair in Economic Freedom and is director of the Bridwell Institute for Economic Freedom at ��Ʒ�� Cox. Dr. Lawson is a founding co-author of the Fraser Institute's Economic Freedom of the World annual report, which presents an economic freedom index for over 160 countries. With Benjamin Powell, he is co-author of the Amazon Bestseller, Socialism Sucks: Two Economists Drink Their Way Through the Unfree World.

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