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MMT101 - Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) – Why, What & How
Rating: 4.2 out of 5(25 ratings)
92 students

MMT101 - Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) – Why, What & How

Learn MMT: A Comprehensive Beginners & Intermediate Course: Currency Issuers vs Users, Government Spending, Tax & More
Created byJames Byrne
Last updated 8/2025
English
English [Auto],

What you'll learn

  • You will learn the fundamentals of the Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) - A Macroeconomics School of Thought
  • You will learn how Gov. funding works, MMT & orthodox economics methodology, the origins of money, monetary sovereignty, deficit, functional finance and more..
  • You will learn from world leading MMT economists including, 'the father of MMT' Warren Mosler, L. Randall Wray, John Harvey ('The Cowboy Economist').
  • You will learn the difference between currency issuing and currency using governments. Including why monetary sovereignty is a spectrum and what that means.
  • You will learn why the MMT approach is important for solving some of our biggest issues, global warming, unemployment, poverty, inequality...
  • You will gain skills that will help you to understand, analyse and interpret economics news and policy decisions related to the economy.
  • You will learn that tax revenues are not used to pay for government services; and you will learn what taxes are used for.
  • You will learn about the role of the Central Bank and how commercial banks interact with the central bank.

Course content

6 sections • 59 lectures • 9h 22m total length

  • This Course Is In Three Sections: The Why, The What & The How of MMT3:14

    My jargon buster document. It is the resource attached to this lecture.

  • MMT Hero Products - Introduction1:32
  • MMT Hero Products: Some Countries Issue Their Own Currency & Some Don't9:46
  • MMT Hero Products - Tax Revenues Don't Fund Spending5:45
  • MMT Hero Products - Are Deficits (spending more than tax income) Good or Bad?6:33

    Explore how deficits arise when government spending exceeds tax income, and how MMT treats deficits as tools to put money into the private sector in a currency sovereign country.

  • MMT Hero Products - Functional Finance2:35

    Explore MMT hero products and functional finance, using tax and spending to improve citizens’ lives, and view deficit spending as a policy tool for currency issuing governments.

  • Please rate and comment if you are finding this course useful0:09

    Please rate and comment if you are finding this course useful. By rating and commenting you will help more people to find my course and therefore, more people will learn about Modern Monetary Theory. I hope you are enjoying the course and finding it useful.

    Thanks,

    Jim

  • How to adjust the playback speed of lectures0:10
  • Warren Mosler, 'The Father of MMT,' Tells Us How It All Started15:53
  • Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, 'It's not tax money, we use the computer to markup ac0:56

    “It’s not tax money. The banks have accounts with the Fed, much the same way that you have an account in a commercial bank. So, to lend to a bank, we simply use the computer to mark up the size of the account that they have with the Fed. It’s much more akin to printing money than it is to borrowing.”

    • Ben Bernanke, Chair of the US Federal Reserve from 2006 to 2014 on 60 Minutes (March 2009).

  • About your tutor Jim Byrne3:59

    MMT101 Training Course: About Your Tutor Jim Byrne

    About Jim Byrne

    • I’ve been interested in politics and economics since I was a teenager.

    • I studied politics and economics in the hours year of my social science degree.

    • completed the master’s-level Foundations of Modern Money, Institutions and Markets module at Torrens University Australia, 2021. Which is the course run by economist Steven Hail and his colleagues.

    • And I’ve written about MMT for Bylines Scotland and The National in Scotland and.

    • in 2023 along with my colleague Lyne Dougan we provided an introduction to Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) at the Scotonomics Conference

    • Last but not least, I run the MMT101.ORG MMT newsletter and Podcast on Substack.

    I’m drawn to MMT because it puts the focus on “what can be done” not on “what can’t be done”. I.e., MMT doesn’t tell us we can’t spend to ‘save the planet’ or there’s no money left to bring people out of poverty.

    MMT exposes the simple message that it is not finance that is finite it is the world’s resources.

    Finally a few other things that may or may not be relevant to my job as an an MMT tutor:

    • Since I was a teenager I’ve been a musician and songwriter - having played in bands, toured and releases numerous records.

    • And the first really job I ever had was as a computer programmer - which was in 1979 - working for a business that creating booking software for the travel industry.

    • For complete transparency - so you know where I’m coming from - so to speak: I’m an equal opportunities supporter.

    • For the last 21 years Iv’e ran my own business focused on ensure the disable people get equal access to digital content, for example, websites, documents, audio and video.

    Outwith my interest in economics and MMT, for the last 30 years, I’ve worked to ensure digital equality for disabled people:

    • First running the not-for-profit Making Connections Unit within Glasgow Caledonian University (where I was a lecturer in the Social Science Department)

    • And then, from 2003, running my own accessible website design and accessibility auditing business.

    • I’d like to live in a world that makes the best of all talents and enables people to make the best of themselves, no matter the circumstances they were born into.

  • Questions to test your understanding of this introductory section of the course
  • An overview of each section of the course in a little more detail4:45
  • Is MMT Political?2:07
  • Resources: Downloadable Documents – Adding Additional Context0:01

Requirements

  • The only requirement is an interest in finding out why our current approach to the economy is not working and why Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) helps solve the challenges of unemployment, inequality, and underutilised resources while ensuring a sustainable and inclusive future.

Description

This comprehensive beginner’s to intermediary  study course provides a clear, jargon-free introduction to Modern Monetary Theory (MMT). MMT is a powerful lens for understanding how money works in modern economies. If you've ever asked why governments say they “can’t afford” public services, or wondered where money really comes from, this course is for you.

You’ll explore the fundamentals of MMT across three main areas: the why, the what, and the how. First, you’ll learn why orthodox economic ideas have failed to deliver fairness, stability, or sustainability. Then, you’ll uncover what MMT actually is, covering ideas like monetary sovereignty, the origins of money, and why deficits (spending more than tax income) are not inherently bad. Finally, you’ll see how MMT applies to real-world issues like government spending, taxation, inflation, unemployment, and ecological transition.

The course includes short videos, plain-language articles, and real-world examples to help you make sense of economic debates. Alongside lessons from top MMT economists, you’ll also gain insight into how mainstream economics contrasts with MMT, and why a more pluralist approach is urgently needed.

Whether you're a student, activist, policymaker, or simply curious, this course gives you the tools to rethink economics from the ground up — and imagine what’s possible when governments use their currency-issuing powers to meet the real needs of people and planet.

Who this course is for:

  • This course is for beginners and intermediate MMT learners. It is intended for complete beginners and people who have some knowledge of MMT.
  • You will be provided with a 'jargon buster' document that explains the basic terms used by Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) academics.
  • This course will help people intended to go on to further study in the area of Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) economics and MMT - such as the postgraduate courses in Modern Monetary Theory and Ecological Economics.. Such as the

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