Lesson Plan

• Describe the four core macro‑economic objectives and the main policy instruments used to achieve them.
• Explain the principal sources of government failure in macro‑policy (information failure, time lags, political constraints, unintended consequences, coordination failure).
• Analyse how different policy‑mix choices can produce unintended outcomes.
• Evaluate practical strategies to mitigate government failure and improve policy effectiveness.

• Projector and screen
• Slide deck summarising policy instruments and failure sources
• Printed handout of the policy‑mix table
• Whiteboard and markers
• Calculator worksheets for the fiscal multiplier exercise
• Access to a real‑time economic data dashboard (optional)

Begin with a recent headline about a government stimulus package and ask students to predict its impact on growth, inflation and employment. Review the four macro‑economic objectives covered last lesson. State that today’s success criteria are to identify why such policies can fall short and to propose ways to avoid those pitfalls.

1. Do‑now (5') – Quick quiz on the four macro objectives and the three policy types.
2. Mini‑lecture (10') – Recap fiscal, monetary and supply‑side tools; introduce the concept of government failure.
3. Group analysis (15') – Students examine the policy‑mix table, highlight potential failures and discuss trade‑offs.
4. Case‑study calculation (10') – Work through the fiscal multiplier formula, focusing on the role of the marginal propensity to import.
5. Whole‑class discussion (10') – Brainstorm mitigation strategies (real‑time data, rules‑based frameworks, automatic stabilisers, coordination committees).
6. Exit ticket (5') – Write one concrete action that could reduce information failure in macro‑policy.

Summarise how information gaps, lags and political pressures can undermine policy effectiveness and how the suggested safeguards address each issue. Collect exit tickets as a retrieval check. For homework, assign a short article on a recent policy failure and ask students to write a one‑page analysis linking it to the failure types discussed.