Interactive: Unintended Consequences – Blog

According to science, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Is that also true in our economy?

When policymakers and other leaders are faced with decisions, it’s often easy to think something along the lines of “just do something!” But when policy is enacted to help achieve a certain outcome, it’s possible that there might be unintended consequences. This interactive game from Marginal Revolution University will demonstrate to students when taking action to solve a problem, you also have to think about what ripple effect that action might have. Some of the outcomes might be a little silly (emus declaring victory over the army), but students will get a good feel for thinking about the consequences of their actions.

Questions:

• What were the initial policy decisions you made in the game? Describe your thought process behind these choices.
• Reflect on the immediate and long-term outcomes of your decisions. Were there any unintended consequences that surprised you? Why or why not?
• Consider the various stakeholders (e.g., consumers, businesses, government, environment) affected by your policy decisions. Which group do you think was most positively impacted, and which was most negatively affected? Why?
• Reflect on how different economic systems (e.g., capitalism, socialism) might approach the issues you encountered in the game. Which system do you think would best address these issues, and why?
• Choose one policy decision you made and discuss an alternative approach you could have taken. Predict the potential outcomes of this alternative approach.

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Be sure to check out NGPF’s Econ Collection unit for more activities!

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Looking for more interactive resources? Be sure to check out the NGPF Interactive Library. 

About
the Author

Ryan Wood

Ryan grew up with and maintains a love for learning. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay with a degree in Business Administration and worked in sports marketing for a number of years. After living in Texas, Colorado, Tennessee, and Minnesota, the call of education eventually brought Ryan back to his home state of Wisconsin where he was a Business and Marketing teacher for three years. In his free time he likes to spend time with his wife and daughter, play basketball, read, and go fishing. Now with NGPF, Ryan is excited to help teachers lead the most important course their students will ever take.