Economics: The Exchange Rate Bundle

Master global currency crises and macroeconomic management with this exclusive interactive HTML bundle, featuring five visually engaging simulations and timelines: Black Wednesday, The Tequila Crisis, The Nixon Shock, The Asian Financial Crisis, and the UK Exchange Rate Simulator.

Perfect for A-Level, IB, and university learners, each resource blends real-world data, economic storytelling, and immersive interactivity to transform how students understand exchange rates, monetary policy, and speculative pressure.

UK Exchange Rate Markets Simulation

— Real-Time Macroeconomics Roleplay Experience —

This HTML simulator is accompanied by a supporting PDF document, designed to help teachers integrate the resource effectively into the classroom with ideas for use, key discussion questions, and reflection prompts.

This sophisticated and fully interactive HTML simulation immerses students in the world of foreign exchange markets, focused on the British pound (GBP). Users take on different economic roles — Trader, Bank of England policymaker, HM Treasury official, or Financial Journalist — to influence and respond to exchange rate fluctuations in real time.

With live exchange rates, newsfeeds, global shocks, and toggled systems (floating vs. fixed), it blends macroeconomic theory, UK policy context, and decision-making under uncertainty.

Key Features:

Choose your role: Trader, Central Bank, Government, or Press

Each role has bespoke actions:

Trader: buy/sell currencies to profit from speculation

Bank of England: raise/lower rates, conduct QE, intervene in FX markets

HM Treasury: release GDP, inflation, unemployment, or trade data

News Agency: publish news on Brexit, politics, and market confidence

Exchange Rate Visualisation:

Live exchange rate display with real-time fluctuation

Market sentiment and volatility dashboards update as players act

Sterling-Specific Market Mechanics:

Currency pairs include GBP/USD, GBP/EUR, GBP/JPY

Policies impact the pound more than cross pairs, reflecting real-world dynamics

Floating vs. Fixed regime toggle simulates pre- and post-1992 systems

Learning Outcomes

Students using this simulator will be able to:

Explain how exchange rates are determined in floating vs. fixed systems

Analyse the impact of monetary and fiscal policy on currency strength

Evaluate the role of speculative behaviour in influencing FX volatility

Assess external shocks, such as political instability or trade data, on Sterling

Distinguish between roles in an open economy: central bank, government, private market, media

Interpret UK-specific macroeconomic indicators and their influence on exchange rate markets

Develop strategic thinking and responsive decision-making under changing economic conditions

Black Wednesday: Interactive Crisis Simulator:

This immersive and visually striking HTML resource simulates the events of Black Wednesday (16 September 1992) — the day the UK was forced to withdraw from the Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM). Designed as an interactive economic crisis simulator, it guides students through the political and economic build-up, the dramatic collapse of sterling, and the immediate aftermath.

The resource combines timeline-based storytelling, real economic data, and interactive UI elements to vividly reconstruct the most infamous financial event in modern British history.

Learning Outcomes

By engaging with this simulator, students will:

Understand the causes of the Black Wednesday crisis, including policy misalignments, inflation differentials, and speculative pressures.

Explore economic decision-making under extreme pressure and learn how governments attempt to defend currency pegs.

Evaluate monetary policy tools, such as interest rate changes and foreign exchange interventions.

Interpret the role of market psychology, expectations, and speculative attacks in exchange rate crises.

Appreciate real-world implications of economic policy errors, including political fallout and market reaction.

Connect historical events to theory, particularly relevant to A-Level and IB Economics topics like exchange rates, central bank policy, ERM, and currency speculation.

The Tequila Crisis Timeline:

An Interactive Economic Case Study of the 1994–95 Mexican Peso Crisis:

Step into the turbulent world of 1990s emerging market finance with this interactive HTML timeline resource, designed to bring the Mexican Peso Crisis (Tequila Crisis) to life. Students and educators alike can explore the complex causes, dramatic events, and hard-earned lessons of one of the most defining currency collapses in modern economic history.

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of this activity, learners will be able to:

Explain the sequence of events that led to the 1994 peso collapse.

Understand the macroeconomic risks of semi-fixed exchange rates and short-term foreign debt.

Analyse the role of investor sentiment, currency mismatches, and central bank credibility.

Evaluate the IMF’s role in crisis response and recovery.

Compare the Tequila Crisis to other historical exchange rate shocks (e.g. Black Wednesday, Asian Crisis).

The Nixon Shock – Interactive Timeline & Learning Tool:

"The Nixon Shock – 1971" is a visually dynamic, timeline-based educational HTML resource that brings to life one of the most pivotal turning points in global economic history: the collapse of the Bretton Woods system and the birth of fiat currency and floating exchange rates.

Designed with captivating UI, interactive animations, rich content modals, and gamified classification of events, this resource is perfect for economics and politics classrooms, particularly at A-Level, IB, and university foundation levels. It helps students trace the evolution of international monetary systems in a clear and immersive way.

Learning Outcomes

By interacting with this timeline simulator, students will:

Understand the structure and collapse of Bretton Woods, including fixed exchange rate mechanisms and gold-dollar convertibility.

Explore the causes of the Nixon Shock, including inflationary pressures, the Triffin Dilemma, and the US trade deficit.

Evaluate the effects of Nixon's 1971 televised announcement, and how it marked the beginning of fiat money systems.

Trace the shift to floating exchange rates, the Smithsonian Agreement, and IMF’s role transformation.

Recognise the long-term impact of the Nixon Shock, including modern monetary policy, volatility, and global imbalances.

Asian Financial Crisis – Interactive Timeline Simulator (1997–1998):

This interactive HTML timeline presents a dynamic and immersive exploration of the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997–1998, guiding learners through one of the most devastating currency and capital flow collapses in modern emerging market history. With vivid visuals, event-triggered animations, and detailed statistical breakdowns, the resource captures both the economic intricacies and human impact of the crisis.

Structured as a chronological scrollable journey, it blends storytelling, macroeconomic data, and interactive design. Each timeline node expands to show impact statistics, clearly classifying events into themes such as Background, Collapse, Contagion, and Intervention.

Learning Outcomes

By using this resource, students will be able to:

Explain the causes of the Asian Financial Crisis, including capital inflows, currency mismatches, and speculative pressure.

Identify how fixed exchange rates contributed to regional vulnerability.

Analyse contagion effects, demonstrating how one country’s collapse (Thailand) spread rapidly across Asia.

Evaluate the role of the IMF, including conditionality, scale of intervention, and controversies.

Connect economic crises to political consequences, such as the fall of long-standing regimes (e.g. Suharto).

Compare multiple country responses to the same crisis scenario, developing higher-order analytical skills.