Welcome!

Welcome to the 2006 update of the exciting curriculum "Is Capitalism Good for the Poor?" These lesson plans and student activities have been carefully designed and written by distinguished economists, including a Nobel Laureate, award winning curriculum writers, and classroom teachers. The objective of the materials is to help teachers engage students in discussions and study of some of the most important economic issues of our time. The title question is intentionally provocative to stir interest and thought, and the answer—yes or no—depends on the particular features of a nation's institutions and how we measure and perceive poverty. Poverty, capitalism, economic growth, income distribution, markets, property rights, rule of law, and moral values are among the many topics addressed.

• Historical Overview

  A Long-term Economic Perspective on Recent Human Progress
  
  

• Lesson 1: Defining Terms

  Comes in two parts: the first defines and provides measures of poverty throughout the world and over time; the second shows the essential features of capitalism, while recognizing the variations among nations' basic economic and political institutions.

• Lesson 2: Property Rights and the Rule of Law

  Deals with the essential role of government in capitalistic systems and the institutional arrangements that promote production, exchange, creativity and economic growth. Extreme poverty worldwide is shown to be closely related to an absence of essential institutions, such as clearly specified property rights and rule of law.

• Lesson 3: Beneficiaries of Competition

  Continues the analysis of the importance of institutions by showing how competition and open markets create opportunities for the poor, spurring their upward mobility out of poverty.

• Lesson 4: How Incentives Affect Innovation

  Examines the forces and institutional arrangements that promote creativity, invention, and innovation. Focusing on historical and global experiences, this lesson shows how economic progress takes place, how the poor are either the direct or indirect beneficiaries of new knowledge, and how institutions promote incentives to help entrepreneurs and inventors flourish.

• Lesson 5: Character Values and Capitalism

  Suggests that human dignity, self-worth, and morality are positively affected by capitalistic institutions. Here, as in all of the lessons and student activities, the objective is to provide evidence and stimulate discussion so that students reach a greater understanding of the issues.

• Conclusion and Caveats

  The lessons may be taught indivudually or as a unit, allowing teachers a great deal of flexibility. The lessons are informative and fun, and they focus on the most important issues of modern times—from the clash of economic, political, and moral systems collectively termed the "Cold War," to the disparate value systems that still divide regions of the world today.