On campus senior economic students continue their studies of comparing economic systems by participating in simulations.
In this simulation students contrasted the use of scarce resources in public property versus private property. In each situation, the students owned a fishing business in which they were in competition with their classmates.
In the first simulation, fishing in the Gulf of Mexico, most groups completely depleted the fish population because the fish were shared publicly among the students. Whereas in the second simulation, while fishing in their private ponds they took care to preserve some of their fish.
The students had an implicit understanding that the law protects their private property, others cannot take it, and if they care for it, they can use it to prosper in the future. The students’ overall takeaway from the simulations and discussions was that scarce resources are used more efficiently when they are privately owned, and hence economic systems that encourage and protect private property rights prosper.
Students enjoy learning in these interactive simulations, and it is a joy to watch them discover economic concepts through the activities.
