Example of Student Work on Ecological Economics

High Road or Low Road? A Role Play on Globalization

     The role play described below has been used with various audiences, including a freshman seminar on sustainability at the University of Michigan and eighth graders at Ypsilanti's West Middle Schools.

     The goal of the role play is to help students understand the relationship among capital mobility, workers, and the environment. In the activity, groups of students assume roles as leaders of 4 different "developing" and "developed" countries, each bidding against the others to attract a foreign-owned factory.

     Each county has varying environmental and labor laws (reflecting conditions in actual countries), and students must adjust their policies in order to create a "favorable investment climate." For example, compare the labor policies of Countries B and C. Compare, too, the incentives offered by Countries D and A.

     Within the given parameters, students must weigh many questions as they decide how to attract investment:

• What will the company consider in choosing a new location?
• If County C raises wages, will it attract better workers or make the country 'uncompetitive'?
• If County D use the military to suppress strikes, what could be the social impacts?
• How might County A's preference for good wages and a healthy environment be a competitive advantage?

What did students decide?
     Students developed polices that reflect two strategies to development: "low road" and "high road"

Low Road Policies: Attracting businesses through low wage and loose environmental regulations and labor laws. Examples:

• Lowing wages from $2 to 10 cents per hour and eliminating minimum wage laws.
• Eliminating child labor laws.
• Making strikes illegal.
• Eliminating environmental regulations and/or reducing enforcement of them.

High Road Policies: Attracting Businesses through Skilled Workers, Stable Communities, and Healthy Environments

• Shifting funds from police protection of factories to education.
• Raising wages and investing in a skilled workforce.
• Providing incentives to companies that reduce energy use or prevent pollution.
• Allowing workers a voice in the operation of the factory.

Which approach was successful in attracting the factory?

     In keeping with predominant economic trends, the 'factory owner' (the teacher) chose a "low road" country--one with low wages, weak labor laws, and loose enforcement of environmental laws.

     The difference between the "high road" and "low road" approaches sparked debate and further investigations about the conflict between community values, workers' interests, and business goals. Activities:

• Students map the changing locations of manufacturing jobs over several decades.
• Students study the connection between foreign investment patterns and working conditions.
• Students investigate companies that promote high road policies.
• Students investigate practices of companies that produce their clothing and food.
• Students interview local business owners about incentive and barriers to the high road.

Some of the Concepts, Standards, and Skills Addressed by this Activity:

• evaluating the costs and benefits of economic policies
• analyzing issues from different perspectives
• describing factors that affect business decisions
• developing criteria for fair policies
• developing strategies to resolve conflicts among businesses, workers, and communities

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