The Best How Economies Work Documentaries

Money & Business - 129 free documentaries about how economies work.

Start with End of the Road: How Money Became Worthless (56 min, ENDEVR), then The PROBLEM with Capitalism - Smarter Every Day 316 (56 min, Smarter Every Day). All 129 documentaries here are free to watch from their makers' official uploads. To read deeper, the top-rated book on how economies work is Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt.

• End of the Road: How Money Became Worthless | Gold | Financial Crisis (56 min, ENDEVR)
• The PROBLEM with Capitalism - Smarter Every Day 316 (56 min, Smarter Every Day)
• The Third Industrial Revolution: A Radical New Sharing Economy (105 min, VICE)
• How the rich get richer - Money in the world economy (42 min, DW Documentary)
• Everything You Need To Know About Money, Inflation | How The System Works (52 min, ENDEVR)
• The System of Money (103 min, Moconomy)
• 97% Owned: The Cruel Truth Behind Money Credit and Financial Crisis (104 min, ENDEVR)
• Zeitgeist - Addendum | Social Corruption | Materialism | Currencies (123 min, Moconomy)
• Why Gas Got So Expensive (It’s Not the War) (22 min, Wendover Productions)
• Inside Europe’s Economic Crises With Christine Lagarde | Leaders with Francine Lacqua (24 min, Bloomberg Originals)
• Stuck With Low Pay, How Taiwan’s Young Graduates Cope With High Costs | Asia’s Stuck Generation (25 min, CNA Insider)
• The Rise of the Global Super-Rich and the Fall of Everyone Else (69 min, ENDEVR)
• A New Economy | Inside the Revolution You’re Not Hearing About (85 min, Moconomy)
• Oil promises – how oil changed a country (85 min, DW Documentary)
• Growing Economy, Miserable Citizens: Why Are Rich Countries So Unhappy? (70 min, ENDEVR)
• A Rust Belt City’s Economic Struggle | Left Behind America (53 min, FRONTLINE PBS)
• Living in the Future's Past | The Film That Rewires How You Think (83 min, Moconomy)
• The Price of the American Dream | How America Created Jobs… and More Poverty (52 min, Moconomy)
• The Economy of Tomorrow | Aging Future (69 min, Moconomy)
• Why There are Now So Many Shortages (It's Not COVID) (20 min, Wendover Productions)
• Ray Dalio Warns of Soaring Debt and ‘Civil War’ Brewing in US | Leaders with Francine Lacqua (24 min, Bloomberg Originals)
• How cash is becoming a thing of the past (42 min, DW Documentary)
• The deceptive promise of free trade (42 min, DW Documentary)
• Globalization: Winners and losers in world trade (1/2) (42 min, DW Documentary)
• How halal products affect the economy (42 min, DW Documentary)
• How 'Hustle Culture' Became The New Norm For Young Filipinos | Insight | Philippines (44 min, CNA Insider)
• Japan’s Economy in 2026: The Comeback Nobody Expected? | Insight (45 min, CNA Insider)
• Gen Zs Are Rethinking 9-To-5 Work: Will Hong Kong Cope Without The Hustle? | Insight (44 min, CNA Insider)
• The Broken American Dream | Hard Earned (47 min, ENDEVR)
• 97% Owned - Money: Root of the social and financial crisis (104 min, Free Documentary)
• Economist on How High Inflation Takes Time To Build Up (22 min, FRONTLINE PBS)
• Singapore Reserves: The Untold Story - Ep 1/2 | Singapore Reserves Revealed | Full TV Episode (47 min, CNA Insider)
• California: The bankrupt State (49 min, VPRO Documentary)
• The World's Fastest Growing Economy (24 min, Wendover Productions)
• What Pakistan’s Debt Dilemma Reveals About Looming Global Default Crisis | Debt Bomb (46 min, CNA Insider)
• Zeitgeist - Moving Forward | Human Survival | Economics | Peter Joseph (162 min, Moconomy)
• Is prosperity without economic growth possible? (42 min, DW Documentary)
• A New Economy | New Business Models (85 min, Moconomy)
• Who Killed Capitalism? (53 min, Real Stories)
• Trade Wars, Fighting Corruption and Rethinking Globalization | Leaders with Francine Lacqua (24 min, Bloomberg Originals)
• How Bangladesh Reversed Its Economic Fate (18 min, Bloomberg Originals)
• How to Make a Country Rich (9 min, The School of Life)
• Token - Economic System Of The Future? | FinTech (64 min, Moconomy)
• Economy in Transition (68 min, Moconomy)
• Sri Lanka's Debt Crisis: Who Is Really To Blame? | Debt Bomb (47 min, CNA Insider)
• Philips Rise After Bankruptcy (45 min, Moconomy)
• Globalization: Profits over people (2/2) (42 min, DW Documentary)
• How This Small Oil-Rich Nation Is Preparing Its Economy For A Future Beyond Oil | Insight | Brunei (46 min, CNA Insider)
• Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone: What Is It? Will It Work? (23 min, CNA Insider)
• Can Thailand Still Rely On Tourism To Repair Post-COVID Economy? | Insight | Southeast Asia (48 min, CNA Insider)
• Globalization - How crises change our World (2/2) (42 min, DW Documentary)
• Globalization - How crises change our world (1/2) (42 min, DW Documentary)
• TSMC: The Company That Rules the Global Microchip Market | Trade War (51 min, ENDEVR)
• HISTORY OF IDEAS - Capitalism (12 min, The School of Life)
• The Economics of Private Jets (10 min, Wendover Productions)
• China’s Belt And Road: A Debt Trap For Sri Lanka? (23 min, CNA Insider)
• Hiding and surviving - Growing up under National Socialism (42 min, DW Documentary)
• All You Need to Know About the Economy of Food (51 min, ENDEVR)
• The Bike Economy – The Multi Billion Dollar System of Amsterdam (31 min, Moconomy)
• The Impact Of Fed Policy | Savior or Saboteur of the Economy (56 min, Moconomy)
• HISTORY OF IDEAS - Consumerism (11 min, The School of Life)
• The New Economy of the Warming Arctic (13 min, Wendover Productions)
• The Magic Economics of Gambling (11 min, Wendover Productions)
• The Economics of Airline Class (12 min, Wendover Productions)
• China's Overseas Investments Total $932B, Can Countries Afford The Price? (23 min, CNA Insider)
• Hot Money | The Hidden Forces Behind Every Economic Collapse | The System EXPLAINED! (118 min, Moconomy)
• Hot Money | Economic Collapse | Finance Documentary | Dangerous Path (118 min, Moconomy)
• Rutger Bregman on Utopia for Realists (44 min, VPRO Documentary)
• Why our economic model must change - VPRO documentary (45 min, VPRO Documentary)
• The Economics That Made Boeing Build the 737 Max (13 min, Wendover Productions)
• US And China Pause On Tariffs, But Why A Trade War Is Still Brewing | When Titans Clash (47 min, CNA Insider)
• Zeitgeist - Addendum | Social Reformation | Economic Insights (123 min, Moconomy)
• Will we all be poorer? | Economy (77 min, Moconomy)
• The $5,000 Battle: Defending an Injured Senior Citizen (45 min, Real Stories)
• Doughnut Economics by Kate Raworth - VPRO documentary - 2017 (45 min, VPRO Documentary)
• Russia's Most Isolated Economy | Frontier Capitalism: How Kamchatka Reinvented Itself (43 min, Moconomy)
• Economy in Transition | Boom, Bust & Rebirth | Winners, Losers & the New World Order (68 min, Moconomy)
• How Asian Foreign Talent In Middle East Is Helping To Build Its Post-Oil Economy | Gulf Falcons (47 min, CNA Insider)
• The American Dream Doesn't Pay the Bills | Hard Earned: The Cost of Survival (47 min, Moconomy)
• How Climate Change Boosts The Economy | The Hidden Money in Fighting Global Warming! (82 min, Moconomy)

Top-Rated Books About How Economies Work

1. Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt (3.9/5) - View on Amazon
2. Naked Economics by Charles J. Wheelan - View on Amazon
3. The Undercover Economist by Tim Harford - View on Amazon
4. Poor Economics by Abhijit Banerjee (4/5) - View on Amazon