This lesson is Module 5 of the distance-learning economics course, students are examining the role of fiscal and monetary policy as well as other ways that the government seeks to influence the economy. Students are encouraged to team up and assist each other as they work through the curriculum. Activity 2 gets students to downloading documents. Activity 3 requires students to interact with downloadable simulations related to fiscal and monetary policy as well as the constraints faced by policy makers.
Students use the web as an information resource for their research on economic history and theories.
They use it as a source of simulations which illustrate some of the challenges of making fiscal and monetary policy. They also use it as a discussion medium. In Activity 1, students conduct interviews with members of the community to examine people's understanding of taxation and tax policies. These interviews become the basis for a paper in which the student analyzes and discusses patterns of popular understanding which may emerge from these interviews. Through this process, students will learn about the different layers of tax authority and the variety of purposes for which tax revenue is spent.