Ripple Effects: An Exercise Exploring Socioecological Externalities Associated With a Common Resource

This article describes an in-person class exercise that explores true cost accounting, negative externalities, and ethics for business students. Building upon earlier games intended for economics students, the exercise is a game in which students are assigned to play the role of a farmer or a fisher who plan to use a common resource. Students relate the decision to use traditional or clean technology to issues confronting farmers and fishers on Lake Erie, considering environmental, social, and economic costs, and focusing on ethical decision-making in the presence of externalities. The article provides instructions, discussion questions and debrief guide, and lists and describes potential articles for students to read before participating in the activity.