Explaining economics on TikTok has made Chris Clarke a bit famous.
Famous in the way that noted economists repost the Washington State University assistant professor’s short videos. National media call for quotes when they’re writing about economic matters. And famous enough that one of his students told him, “Yeah, my mom watches you on TikTok.”
Economics professor Chris Clarke posts a number of current economics explainer videos on TikTok and Instagram. (Photo Robert Hubner)
While Clarke (’20 PhD Econ.) says that’s all great, it’s not the point.
“I engage with the general public because my goal is to listen,” he says. “They know their economic experience and I don’t know their economic experience.”
Clarke uses TikTok to understand what people are talking about, worried about, or interested in. Then he creates short videos to bring context and even answers from an economics angle. They’re highly produced, with graphics and “stitched” content that adds his commentary to other TikTok videos. That last technique is especially educational.
For instance, last year a TikToker got a lot of attention claiming economic conditions in 2023 were worse than during the Great Depression. Clarke says he felt compelled to counter that “megaviral” message. “I put together some numbers that showed it was nonsense,” he says.
It’s a lot. But it’s worth it because of the educational mission of a public university, Clarke says.
“I think our role is knowledge dissemination, educating as many people as possible,” he says. “My number one goal is public education—to take economics, which is an incredibly valuable topic that affects every one of us, and put it into a format that’s easily digestible.”