EPISODE · Jun 13, 2026 · 6 MIN
Why can’t governments print an unlimited amount of money? - Jonathan Smith
from TED-Ed · host TED-Ed
Explore the economic strategy of quantitative easing, where a central bank purchases bonds in order to boost the economy.--In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic rocked economies worldwide. Millions of people lost their jobs, and many businesses struggled to survive or shut down. Governments responded with some of the largest economic relief packages in history— the US alone spent $2.2 trillion on a first round of relief. So where did all this money come from? Jonathan Smith explores the strategy of quantitative easing.Lesson by Jonathan Smith, directed by Serin İnan, Kozmonot Animation Studio.Support Our Non-Profit Mission----------------------------------------------Support us on Patreon: http://bit.ly/TEDEdPatreonCheck out our merch: http://bit.ly/TEDEDShop----------------------------------------------Connect With Us----------------------------------------------Sign up for our newsletter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletterFollow us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/TEDEdFacebookFind us on Twitter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdTwitterPeep us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/TEDEdInstagram----------------------------------------------Keep Learning----------------------------------------------View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-do-governments-create-money-out-of-thin-air-jonathan-smithDig deeper with additional resources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-do-governments-create-money-out-of-thin-air-jonathan-smith#digdeeperAnimator's website: https://www.kozmonot.tv----------------------------------------------Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Nathan Giusti, Helen Lee, Anthony Benedict, Karthik Balsubramanian, John Hong, Annastasshia Ames, Amy Lopez, Vinh-Thuy Nguyen, Liz Candee, Kathryn Vacha, Ugur Doga Sezgin, Anthony Arcis, Chung Wah Gnapp, Karmi Nguyen, Yelena Baykova, Harshita Jagdish Sahijwani, Nick Johnson, Carlos H. Costa, Roberto Patrick, Les Howard, Jennifer Kurkoski, Ryan B Harvey, Abhishek Bansal, Akinola Emmanuel, Jose Arcadio Valdes Franco, Karl Laius, JY Kang, Heidi Stolt, Alexis Hevia, Christina Salvatore, Karlee Finch, Michael Goldberg, Denise A Pitts, Doug Henry, Kristiyan Bonev, Keven Webb, Mihai Sandu, Deepak Iyer, Javid Gozalov, Kyanta Yap, Rebecca Reineke, William Biersdorf, Patricia Alves Panagides, Valeria Sloan Vasquez, Yvette Mocete, Cyrus Garay, Samuel Barbas, Brighteagle, LadyGeek and Curtis Light. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
What this episode covers
Explore the economic strategy of quantitative easing, where a central bank purchases bonds in order to boost the economy.--In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic rocked economies worldwide. Millions of people lost their jobs, and many businesses struggled to survive or shut down. Governments responded with some of the largest economic relief packages in history— the US alone spent $2.2 trillion on a first round of relief. So where did all this money come from? Jonathan Smith explores the strategy of quantitative easing.Lesson by Jonathan Smith, directed by Serin İnan, Kozmonot Animation Studio.Support Our Non-Profit Mission----------------------------------------------Support us on Patreon: http://bit.ly/TEDEdPatreonCheck out our merch: http://bit.ly/TEDEDShop----------------------------------------------Connect With Us----------------------------------------------Sign up for our newsletter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletterFollow us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/TEDEdFacebookFind us on Twitter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdTwitterPeep us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/TEDEdInstagram----------------------------------------------Keep Learning----------------------------------------------View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-do-governments-create-money-out-of-thin-air-jonathan-smithDig deeper with additional resources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-do-governments-create-money-out-of-thin-air-jonathan-smith#digdeeperAnimator's website: https://www.kozmonot.tv----------------------------------------------Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Nathan Giusti, Helen Lee, Anthony Benedict, Karthik Balsubramanian, John Hong, Annastasshia Ames, Amy Lopez, Vinh-Thuy Nguyen, Liz Candee, Kathryn Vacha, Ugur Doga Sezgin, Anthony Arcis, Chung Wah Gnapp, Karmi Nguyen, Yelena Baykova, Harshita Jagdish Sahijwani, Nick Johnson, Carlos H. Costa, Roberto Patrick, Les Howard, Jennifer Kurkoski, Ryan B Harvey, Abhishek Bansal, Akinola Emmanuel, Jose Arcadio Valdes Franco, Karl Laius, JY Kang, Heidi Stolt, Alexis Hevia, Christina Salvatore, Karlee Finch, Michael Goldberg, Denise A Pitts, Doug Henry, Kristiyan Bonev, Keven Webb, Mihai Sandu, Deepak Iyer, Javid Gozalov, Kyanta Yap, Rebecca Reineke, William Biersdorf, Patricia Alves Panagides, Valeria Sloan Vasquez, Yvette Mocete, Cyrus Garay, Samuel Barbas, Brighteagle, LadyGeek and Curtis Light. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
NOW PLAYING
Why can’t governments print an unlimited amount of money? - Jonathan Smith
No transcript for this episode yet
Similar Episodes
Apr 13, 2026 ·41m
Apr 13, 2026 ·40m
Apr 13, 2026 ·64m
Apr 13, 2026 ·48m
Apr 9, 2026 ·55m
Apr 1, 2026 ·42m