Lesson Plan

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Lesson Plan
Grade: Date: 17/01/2026
Subject: Economics
Lesson Topic: Causes of market failure: missing markets
Learning Objective/s:
  • Describe what a missing market is and why it constitutes market failure.
  • Explain how missing markets affect allocative efficiency using welfare analysis.
  • Identify the main types of missing markets and give a typical example of each.
  • Evaluate government interventions that can correct missing markets.
Materials Needed:
  • Projector and screen
  • PowerPoint slides with definitions and diagrams
  • Printed handout containing the missing‑market table and DWL diagram
  • Worksheet with case‑study scenarios
  • Calculators and markers
 Introduction:

Begin with a short video clip showing a community lacking clean water to spark curiosity about goods that aren’t bought in markets. Ask students to recall the definition of market failure from the previous lesson and note that today they will explore a specific cause—missing markets. Explain that by the end of the lesson they should be able to identify missing markets, analyse their welfare impact, and suggest appropriate policy responses.
Lesson Structure:
  1. Do‑now (5'): Quick quiz on general market failure concepts from the last lesson.
  2. Mini‑lecture (10'): Define missing markets, present the table of types, and discuss why they lead to inefficiency.
  3. Guided analysis (12'): Work through the DWL diagram for a public good; students calculate the dead‑weight loss using the triangle formula.
  4. Group activity (15'): Small groups analyse a case study (e.g., health insurance, used‑car market) to identify the missing market and propose a government intervention.
  5. Whole‑class debrief (8'): Groups share findings; teacher highlights connections to the four ways missing markets cause failure.
  6. Exit ticket (5'): Each student writes one example of a missing market and one policy that could address it.
Conclusion:

Summarise how missing markets prevent the P = MC condition and create dead‑weight loss. Collect the exit tickets to gauge understanding and assign a short homework task: research a real‑world missing market and design a brief policy proposal. This reinforces today’s concepts and prepares students for the upcoming assessment.