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Mini-Economy

The Mini Economy is an experience-based instructional program used to teach the concepts of entrepreneurship, economics, and government in a classroom setting. Conducted as a unit of study this high energy simulation focuses on economic education, financial literacy, classroom management, and “real-world” market situations. During the simulation students establish their own society, design and print their own money, plan and open businesses, and create a functioning government.

A student structured economic society (with the guidance of a trained teacher)

Goal setting and responsibility

Cooperative learning

Experience with entrepreneurship in an authentic market situation

Creative problem solving

Crossover instruction in language arts, math, art, and social studies

C lick here to learn more about the program by looking over the Mini-Economy curriculum guide.

Click here to view a video of a Mini-Economy Market Day.

Market Day is a culminating event which provides students the opportunity to sell the goods and services they have made as part of establishing their own business. Students also get to be buyers using the currency established for the class economy. Some schools organize a global market day to allow all businesses from classroom economies to come to a single market to buy and sell products. The VCU, JMU, and Lynchburg Centers for Economic Education organize a market day in the spring for classes and schools from multiple school divisions in their regions to attend. View some photos from these recent market days.

“Doing the Mini-Economy allows students to construct their own knowledge by going through the process of creating their own business. It is much more fun than just being fed the information. The Market Day was the most fun field trip I have been on in my five years of teaching.”

- Hanover County Teacher

“The Mini-Economy Program enables all students to experience becoming entrepreneurs…Students are accountable for setting up their own businesses to offer products that they design and create. As economics lessons are taught and production days are used for students to actually manufacture their own products in the classroom. Record keeping allows the student to see the implications of start up costs and the expenditures necessary for beginning a successful business.”

- Susan Albaugh, Hanover County Teacher

JMU GEM Fair

Lynchburg Regional Market Day

Teacher workshops

VCU Mini-Economy Market Day