Uploaded January 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago

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What happens when you task a group of world-class economists and a Yale historian with saving a 13th-century kingdom?

You wake up in 1250 AD as the newly appointed “Minister of the Economy” in a world with no banks, no stable currency, no economic data, and no institutions. Only famine, war, feudal power, and a king demanding results.

In Economics Labs we test whether modern economic ideas can survive in a medieval reality with no trust, or room for mistakes?

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Articles:
fee.org/articles/how-medieval-towns-paved-the-way-for-capitalism
fee.org/articles/the-medieval-geniuses-who-invented-carried-interest-and-the-modern-barbarians-who-want-to-tax-it
fee.org/articles/how-capitalism-tamed-medieval-europe

0:00 - The 1250 AD Economic Challenge
2:14 - Debunking "Dark Ages" Myths
5:13 - Top-Down Planning vs. Free City-States
8:40 - Serfdom: The Ultimate Innovation Killer
15:27 - Medieval "Life Hacks" for Avoiding Usury Laws
19:14 - Modern Tech in 1250: What Would Actually Help?
24:30 - Crisis Management: Debasing Currency & The Black Death
33:20 - Conclusion: Lessons for the Modern World