Compensating differentials (experiment) Pairs of students negotiate completion of two tasks, one pleasant and one unpleasant. ... View more

Common Property (experiment) Students jointly own a common resource and must make consumption decisions over multiple rounds. Here are many variations of this game, generally using different goods as the common resources (e.g., see here Games Economists Play: Games 71 - 80) For larger classes, can be done with a sub-set of students as a demonstration for the rest of the class. Have students predict what will happen before game begins.   ... View more

Candy Price Index (cooperative learning, experiment) Students develop a price index using data from classmates' purchasing decisions. ... View more

Cashmere market (interactive lecture, media) Students watch a clip from the Colbert Report and must analyze the externality discussed. Can have students complete individually, with think-pair-share or small groups. In larger classes, student responses can be collected using clickers.   ... View more

Class unemployment rate (interactive demonstration) Students predict the unemployment rate for the class and then use survey data to calculate the actual unemployment rate. With larger classes, could collect responses to follow-up questions with clickers ... View more

Can Congress diagnose and treat an ailing economy? (Discussion) This lesson plan from Junior Achievement has students analyze data and recommend policy interventions. With larger classes, could ... View more

Budget Explorer (simulation) Students must decide how to balance the budget and reduce the debt/deficit. ... View more

Big Money (Econ video, song by Garth Brooks) Singer describes some of the high-risk jobs that pay 'big money'. ... View more

Bart Gets Famous (TV clip) Bart quickly learns about the diminishing returns to being famous. ... View more

Trade Agreements (simulation) Students participate in mock NAFTA negotiations. Note: This is a multi-period lesson plan; first part includes discussion questions about government regulation of trade and then multiple periods are devoted to the NAFTA simulation. ... View more

Tracking the U.S. Economy (interactive lecture demonstration) Students use real data to uncover patterns in GDP over time. Can use clickers to have students predict trend before examining data.   ... View more

The Way It Is (Econ video, song by Bruce Hornsby) Lyrics refer to discrimination (video notes also discuss different types of unemployment) Note: video is long (8:47) and mashes up 2 songs (Tupac's song Changes samples Way It Is)- stop after the first song to focus on discrimination. ... View more

The Stock Market Game is a fully-fledged game and apps designed to help students with financial literacy " What would you do if you were given $100,000? Would you spend it all at once? Would you think about putting some of it in the bank? We’d like to teach you how to invest it, so you might grow it. Through The Stock Market Game (SMG), you will gain a fundamental understanding of investing and how you might get your money to work for you." Plentiful resources from the Federal Reserve to support your classroom use of the game: Tools for Enhancing The Stock Market Game: Invest it Forward Video Series | Education Resources | St...  ... View more

Barbeque externalities (experiment, collaborative) Students must negotiate an efficient outcome to deal with an externality. Property rights are assigned differently to different pairs of students. In larger classes, student responses can be collected using clickers.   ... View more

An excellent example to discuss in class when covering price controls, market efficiency, or international trade is the effect of U.S. sugar subsidies. Most Americans do not realize the high price they pay for sugar, mostly because it's such a low price to begin with. But looking at the efficiency of the industry as a whole, the costs are staggering. There are also indirect effects as bakers and candy producers pass on higher costs to consumers, or move to other countries (taking jobs with them) in order to save on input costs. Sugar Price Supports Are Not So Sweet​ U.S. News and World Report (Sept 5, 2014) ... View more