Infrastructure and Economic Growth: A PACED Analysis

Unit 4 · Lesson 4.5 · Last updated June 2026

A 45-minute lesson where students use the PACED decision-making model to evaluate three real-world infrastructure projects — India's Golden Quadrilateral, China's Three Gorges Dam, and rural broadband in Georgia — by analyzing their short- and long-run costs and benefits.

Duration45 min

Grades9–12

Prep<10 min

FormatDecision-making model + reading

Open editable copy (Google Doc) Download lesson (PDF) View Instruction Slides (Google Slides)

Overview

Students learn how infrastructure projects contribute to economic growth and standard of living. Using the PACED decision-making model, they evaluate three real-world projects across four criteria — short-term benefits, long-term benefits, short-term costs, and long-term costs — and reach a reasoned conclusion about which had the highest net benefit for its country.

Learning Objective

Analyze the costs and benefits of investing in infrastructure in the short run and the long run.

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Materials

Instruction Slides (display during class period)
Student Handout pp. 4–5 (1 copy per student)
Infrastructure Project Reading pp. 6–8 (1 copy per student)

Optional

1 large sheet of poster paper divided into 3 sections, labeled with each project name + 1 sticker or sticky note per student (for the class vote summarizer)

Lesson Sequence

Slides 2–3

Display Slide 2. Instruct students to consider the question on the slide. Call on several students to share and debrief. (Additional educator tips and suggested answers are in the notes section throughout Instruction Slides.)
Proceed to Slide 3. Explain the learning objective.

Slides 4–28

Advance through Slides 4–5. Tell students to consider the questions on Slide 5 as they watch the ~80-second video clip. Play the video. Instruct students to discuss their responses with 1–2 classmates. Note: Skip this step if time is tight.
Progress through Slides 6–7. Define infrastructure and identify key reasons why it matters. Emphasize that infrastructure is one of the factors contributing to a country's wealth. Note: Students do not need to take notes — Student Handout includes the definition and explanation.
Display Slide 8. Click to reveal each project and allow students a moment to review the brief overview. Instruct students to select which project they believe had the highest net benefit for its country and share their prediction with a peer.
Advance through Slides 9–10. Remind students that all decision-making can be a "messy" process — some decisions are low-stakes, but others require more deliberate thinking.
Proceed to Slide 11. Explain that when a decision is complicated and high-stakes, a structured protocol can help remove emotions from the process. Introduce the PACED decision-making model.
Display Slide 12. Identify what each letter in the acronym stands for.
Advance to Slide 13. Identify the problem and the alternatives. Point out where evaluation criteria will be listed in the matrix.
Proceed to Slide 14. Ask students to generate 2–4 criteria to answer the problem. (See slide notes if students struggle to generate relevant criteria.) Call on several students to share. Acknowledge that many criteria could be relevant, but for this lesson the criteria will be constrained.
Proceed to Slide 15. Distribute 1 copy of Student Handout to each student. Note: The definition and importance of infrastructure are on the reverse.
Advance to Slide 16. Instruct students to follow along as you click to reveal each criterion, pausing to identify the questions used to determine which project had the highest net benefit. Click to reveal the final text and tell students it is time to begin the evaluation portion of PACED.
Display Slide 17. Play the short video to introduce the first project. Encourage students to look for information related to the criteria on Student Handout. After viewing, instruct students to jot down key information.
Advance to Slide 18. Distribute 1 copy of Infrastructure Project Reading to each student. Allow approximately 4 minutes to follow the instructions on the slide.
Progress to Slide 19. Remind students that more stars indicate stronger performance on a given criterion. Allow a moment to follow the instructions. (See slide notes for additional rating explanation.) Explain that short-term benefits may persist if the project is maintained. Pro Tip: Encourage students to use a pencil — they may wish to revise ratings after seeing the other projects. Call on several students to share their ratings and reasoning. Remind students it is reasonable for ratings to differ based on individual values.
Using Slides 20–25, repeat Steps 12–15 for the two remaining projects. Note: The video for rural high-speed internet (Slide 23) discusses broad impacts and references Wisconsin; the reading focuses on Bulloch County, Georgia.
Display Slide 26. Tell students to consider additional relevant issues not directly addressed in the materials and potentially reconsider their initial ratings.
Proceed to Slide 27. Instruct students to review their notes and make any final changes to ratings. Click to reveal the remaining text — instruct students to total the stars for each project and record the totals on their handout.
Advance to Slide 28. Tell students to reflect on their evaluation and reach a decision. If two projects are tied, instruct students to consider which criteria they weigh most heavily — that may lead to a clear choice.

Slides 29–31

Progress through Slides 29–30. Direct students to recall their initial prediction and discuss the questions on Slide 30 with a peer. Poll the class to see how many students changed their opinion. If tight on time, skip the poster activity and informally poll the class on their final decision.
Display Slide 31. Hang pre-divided poster paper in an accessible location and distribute 1 sticker per student. Release 4–5 students at a time to place their sticker in the section corresponding to their final decision. (Reference Slide 32 for an example of what the class vote might look like.) Emphasize that differing conclusions are reasonable — individual values influence how costs and benefits are weighed.
Collect Student Handout and review decision responses for misconceptions or gaps. Address at the start of the next lesson.

Aligned Standards

Voluntary National Content Standards in Economics

Standard 2 Decision-Making

Standard 7 Role of Government

Standard 16 Growth and Fluctuations

What Educators Are Saying

Decision-making grids are a fantastic tool.

Camille Savage

High School Economics Teacher, Arizona

PACED is an excellent tool to help balance out emotion and logic. Students commented that they could use it in a variety of daily choices in their lives. It was interesting to see their reactions change based on new information provided.

Taylor Waterworth