This is a collection of downloadable video clips on the theme of Economic Systems, with guiding questions for students. Clips are drawn from the following PBS WIDE ANGLE documentaries: "To Have and Have Not" (2002), "A State of Mind" (2003), "Ladies First" (2004), "1-800-INDIA" (2005), "Border Jumpers" (2005).

This lesson plan contains a presentation that gives a brief overview of the  three different economic systems. There is a worksheet that the students can complete alone with the presentation. I have also provided the key to the worksheet.

This lesson introduces students to the three main types of economic systems, command, market, and mixed. Students work with limited knowledge, not knowing about mixed systems until the very end. This allows students to see the pieces of command systems and market systems that are present in the United States and in their “ideal” economies.

This textbook introduces readers to the idea of cooperation and mutualism. Cooperatives and mutuals are participatory organizations in which members participate in control and governance, receive economic benefits through patronage refunds or net income, and become owners through equity. These mutual-benefit organizations exist alongside non-profit organizations and investor-benefit organizations through the global economy.

In order for markets to function effectively, property rights must be clear. In this video, we explore the idea of property rights, and why they matter in markets and how they affect individual incentives. We describe some of the conditions that are necessary for a properly and efficiently operating market to exist, including how exclusivity, enforceability, and transferability of property rights are essential for a properly functioning market.

Textbook, slide presentations, and class activities related to social structure and interaction, and the economy. Primary text: OpenStax Introduction to Sociology 2e

They say that "money makes the world go round." Just imagine a world without money as our method of payment for everyday transactions. Without money, we would all need to barter for necessary goods and services. For example, suppose an accountant needs to have her car fixed. Under a barter system, she would have to find someone who needed some tax advice in exchange for car repairs. The search to find a barter partner is time consuming and wasteful. Money solves this problem and many others. Read more about the three main functions of money and the damaging effects of too much inflation on these functions in the March 2013 issue.

Market systems only function well when property rights are well defined. Take a deeper dive into the role of property rights in a market system in this video.