Investments That Drive Economic Growth
Unit 4 · Lesson 4.3 · Last updated June 2026
A 45-minute lesson where students analyze institutional data, participate in a digital spreadsheet simulation representing four countries with varying investments in public health and education, and explore the short- and long-run costs and benefits of those investments.
Overview
Students briefly analyze real-world data to review the relationship between stable institutions and economic prosperity (from Lesson 4.2). Through a digital simulation, they discover how investment in people — via public health and education — creates pathways to prosperity through increased productivity. To conclude, students examine current event headlines to explore what barriers prevent countries from making these investments. Watch a short video tutorial.
Learning Objective
- Identify the costs and benefits of investing in public health and education in the short and long run.
Materials
- Instruction Slides (display during class period)
- Activator p. 5 (Class Set — 1 copy per pair)
- Suggested Responses pp. 6–7 (1 copy for educator use)
- Laptops (1 per student)
- Digital Simulation Spreadsheet (provide each student with their own editable copy)
- Country Handouts pp. 8–15 (1 copy per 4 students, sorted by country number)
- Timer or clock with a second hand (at least 1)
- Simulation Support p. 16 (1 copy for educator and/or timekeeper use)
- Simulation Data p. 17 (Class Set — 1 copy per student)
- Advanced Training pp. 18–19 (Class Set — enough copies for half of students; for Countries 1 and 3 only)
Lesson Sequence
Slides 1–3
- Display Slide 2. Distribute 1 copy of Activator to each pair. Remind students that Lesson 4.2 focused on how effective institutions create a pathway to economic prosperity. Instruct pairs to review the excerpt and table and discuss the activator prompt. (Additional educator tips and suggested answers are in the notes section throughout Instruction Slides.)
- Debrief as a class. (See Suggested Responses.) Collect Activator.
- Proceed to Slide 3. Identify the learning objective and explain that this lesson focuses on how investing in people — via public health and education — also creates pathways to economic prosperity.
Slides 4–18
- Advance through Slides 4–5. Provide each student with access to their own editable copy of Digital Simulation Spreadsheet. Direct students to open it on their laptop, then close the laptop halfway. Students cannot use their laptops again until the simulation begins.
- Display Slide 6. Click to reveal the framing information and explain that during the simulation, students will compete to be the most productive group of research assistants within 10 minutes. Divide students into 4 groups of as equal size as possible. If needed, select 1–2 students to act as timekeepers and give them Simulation Support to reference throughout.
- Proceed to Slide 7. Tell students each group represents workers in a different country with unique circumstances. Assign each group a country number and distribute the corresponding Country Handout. Instruct all students to read the scenario and instructions on their handout.
- Advance to Slide 8. Reinforce that all students will follow the "Research Assistant Instructions" on their handout and use Simulation Data (distributed in the next step) to complete as many tasks as possible in Digital Simulation Spreadsheet.
- Display Slide 9 briefly to show what an uncompleted tab of Digital Simulation Spreadsheet looks like.
- Progress through Slides 10–13 to demonstrate what an uncompleted task looks like compared to a completed task. Cover the basics (highlighting rows, cells, and columns). Do not share any tips from Advanced Training.
- Advance to Slide 14. Remind students they can complete tasks in any order and move between tabs. Distribute 1 copy of Simulation Data to each student. Distribute 1 copy of Advanced Training to each student in Countries 1 and 3 only.
- Proceed to Slide 15. Tell students in Countries 1 and 3 that because their government invests significantly in education, they will receive further training and may not start any tasks until directed to. Tell students in Countries 2 and 4 that their government invests minimally in education and they will complete tasks without further training. Click to reveal: instruct Countries 1 and 3 to read Advanced Training for 2 minutes while Countries 2 and 4 begin tasks. Start a 2-minute timer.
- After 2 minutes, display Slide 16. Tell Countries 1 and 3 their training is complete — Country 1 students may now open their laptops and begin tasks.
- Proceed to Slide 17. Tell Countries 3 and 4 they must rest for 30 seconds due to health challenges from minimal investment in public health — close eyes, no work. Countries 1 and 2 continue working. Start a 30-second timer. After 30 seconds, reveal new text and direct Countries 3 and 4 to resume. Start a 2-minute timer. Repeat this cycle (2 min work / 30 sec rest for Countries 3 and 4) until approximately 10 minutes have elapsed from simulation start — 4 rest periods total. Reference Simulation Support for help.
- Note for Countries 2 and 4 who lack Advanced Training: if students grow frustrated, suggest using a calculator for averages, looking up functions via Google Sheets Help, or focusing on familiar tasks across all tabs before attempting unfamiliar ones. If students mistype or delete data, tell them to go to Edit → Undo.
- Display Slide 18. Tell all students to stop working.
Slides 19–31
- Progress through Slides 19–20. Instruct students to reference Digital Simulation Spreadsheet as they complete the "Points Table" on their handout. Once done, close laptops — not needed again.
- Proceed to Slide 21. Define labor productivity and click to reveal the prompt. Ask students to predict which country was most productive.
- Advance to Slide 22. Ask a representative from each country to total their group's points and report out. Record total points for each country on Slide 22 or a whiteboard. Subtract taxes (representing the cost of public health and education investment) and record Net Points. Direct students to fill in the "Class Productivity" table on their handout.
- Progress through Slides 23–28. Allow students a moment to discuss each debrief question, then debrief as a class. (See Suggested Responses for detailed answers.)
- Use Slides 29–30 for debrief question 4. Explain the connection between healthy workers, human capital development, and the PPF. Encourage students to add notes and examples to the debrief section of their handout.
- Proceed to Slide 31. Ask students to discuss the question with a peer, then debrief as a class. (See slide notes for suggested responses.)
Slides 32–34
- Progress through Slides 32–33. Tell students that although the relationship between public health, human capital, and productivity is well understood, these investments are not always made. Instruct students to discuss the question on Slide 33 with a peer (~30 seconds).
- Proceed to Slide 34. Ask students to review the headlines and discuss what they can add to their previous responses. Call on several students to share. Pro Tip: If time permits, have students return to their Lesson 4.1 Student Handout and add to their explanations of how each factor learned so far contributes to national wealth.
Note: Consider making additional copies of Advanced Training or posting it to your LMS so students in Countries 2 and 4 can acquire basic spreadsheet skills after the lesson.
Aligned Standards
Voluntary National Content Standards in Economics
Standard 2 Decision-Making
Standard 16 Growth and Fluctuations
What Educators Are Saying
These kinds of experiences are exactly what make this curriculum shine. I am not digging through outdated textbooks or spending hours scouring Teachers Pay Teachers.
High School Economics Teacher, Illinois
Whether you are a teacher who is new to economics or an experienced teacher with advanced classes, there are always great new ideas, strategies, videos, or approaches that can help you better engage students.
Anonymous
I will use this lesson again in the future.
Anonymous