Niall Ferguson, a financial historian and Harvard professor, will put the economic crisis of the past year in its historical context. His perspective of these economic cycles provides all of us with a better understanding of the world we are living in today.

The live Q&A begins on Tuesday, November 24 at 6pm EST. Ask your questions now.

This exclusive event was made possible by T. Rowe Price.

As the world continues to struggle to find its footing amid rising unemployment, constricted credit and crumbling banks and industries — raising questions about how the economic system collapsed — PBS presents Niall Ferguson’s ASCENT OF MONEY. This groundbreaking four-part series examines the creation of the economic system by taking viewers on a global trek through the history of money. (An abbreviated version of the documentary, which focused on the current economic crisis at the advent of the Obama administration, aired in January; it can be streamed in full on the Website.) The four-hour version delves deeper into how the complex system of global finance evolved over the centuries, how money has shaped the course of human affairs and how the mechanics of this economic system work to create seemingly unlimited wealth — or catastrophic loss.

ASCENT OF MONEY is based on Ferguson’s best-selling book The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World, which predicted the current economic crisis and was released within weeks of the meltdown of sub-prime loans.

Said Ferguson, “In the midst of a major economic depression, it is often hard to appreciate the historical precedents and truly understand that while a situation may look dire, our system of finance, banking and trade has allowed for unprecedented progress. I’m hopeful the film will allow viewers to better understand the on-going evolution of our financial system and how our economy remains extraordinarily viable even as we are grappling with a crisis of historic proportions.”

For millions of people, the recession has generated a thirst for knowledge about how our global economic system really works, especially when so many financial experts seem to be equally baffled. In ASCENT OF MONEY, economist, author and historian Ferguson offers insight into these questions by taking viewers step-by-step through the milestones of the financial history that created this system, visiting the locations where key events took place and poring over actual ledgers and documents — such as the first publicly traded share of a company — that would change human history. Ferguson maintains that the history of money is indeed at the core of our human history, with economic strength determining political dominance, wars fought to create wealth and individual financial barons determining the fates of millions.

Among the places Ferguson visits are Bolivia, where Spain established vast gold and silver mines — still in operation — and enslaved the indigenous people to create so much currency for the Spanish crown that it eventually became worthless; Italy, where the Medici family transformed the sinful practice of usury into the banking system we know today and in the process became as powerful as monarchs; Paris, where Scotsman John Law created a Ponzi scheme tied to the Louisiana territory that brought France to its knees; London, where bonds trader Nathan Rothschild and his family nearly went bankrupt by helping to finance the British army’s war against Napoleon, then achieved enormous wealth through the buying and selling of war bonds; Scotland, where two ministers established the first life insurance fund, and New Orleans, where the shortcomings of their calculations would be demonstrated to tragic effect in the wake of Hurricane Katrina; and New York, where Ferguson interviews financial wizard George Soros about the concept he introduced of short selling derivatives based on a prediction that they will lose value.

Through this history, viewers learn economic fundamentals that inform the meanings of sub-prime mortgages and credit default swaps and an understanding how the Chinese economy has risen to dominate the world.

GRADE LEVEL: 9-12

TOPIC / SUBJECT MATTER: Economics, Finance, History

TIME ALLOTMENT: 2-3 45-minute class periods

OVERVIEW:
Using video segments from the PBS series THE ASCENT OF MONEY, this lesson teaches high school students about the role of banks both in history and the present day. Students will learn about key financial concepts that contributed to the evolution of banks. Those concepts will then be applied to modern banks and the services they provide. As a culminating activity, students will be introduced to the concept of creditworthiness.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
• Define the terms “credit” and “interest”
• Explain the evolution of money lending to banking
• Detail the role of modern banks and the services they provide
• Analyze criteria banks use to determine creditworthiness
• Understand the roots of the modern banking system
• Recognize how personal choices and decisions affect one’s creditworthiness

STANDARDS

National Standards for Economics
Standard 4: Role of Incentives

• People respond predictably to positive and negative incentives.

Standard 5: Gain from Trade

• Voluntary exchange occurs only when all participating parties expect to gain. This is true for trade among individuals or organizations within a nation, and among individuals or organizations in different nations.

Standard 10: Role of Economic Institutions

• Institutions evolve in market economies to help individuals and groups accomplish their goals. Banks, labor unions, corporations, legal systems, and not-for-profit organizations are examples of important institutions. A different kind of institution, clearly defined and enforced property rights, is essential to a market economy.

Standard 11: Role of Money

• Money makes it easier to trade, borrow, save, invest, and compare the value of goods and services.

Standard 12: Role of Interest Rates

• Interest rates, adjusted for inflation, rise and fall to balance the amount saved with the amount borrowed, which affects the allocation of scarce resources between present and future uses.

MEDIA RESOURCES
VIDEO

Clip 1:

Establishing Credit, Earning Interest

Clip 2:

Borrowing Time

Clip 3:

First Bank of the Medici

Access the streaming and downloadable video segments for this lesson at the Video Segments Page.

WEBSITES
CitiFinancial: Resource Center: All About Credit
http://www.citifinancial.com/resourcecenter/allaboutcredit_lender.php
This Web site from Citibank details criteria for granting a loan or issuing a credit card.

What’s Up in Finance? It Costs What?! Credit Card Primer
http://www.thirteen.org/finance/games/itcostswhat_creditcard.html
In this learning interactive from THIRTEEN, users learn about the basics of using credit cards.

What’s Up In Finance? It Costs What?! Case Files
http://www.thirteen.org/finance/games/itcostswhat_casefiles.html
In this learning interactive from THIRTEEN, users read about and understand different ways of dealing with credit card debt.

MATERIALS

For each student:
• Creditworthiness Student Organizer (PDF) (RTF)
• Weekend Trip Invitation (PDF) (RTF).

For each pair/group of students:
• Chart paper and markers
• Computer with access to internet

For the class:
• Creditworthiness Student Organizer Answer Key (PDF) (RTF)
• Bank Services Answer Key (PDF) (RTF)
• Computer with access to internet
• Projector and screen

PREP FOR TEACHERS

Prior to teaching this lesson, you will need to:

Preview all of the video segments and Web sites used in the lesson.

Download the video clips used in the lesson to your classroom computer, or prepare to watch them using your classroom’s Internet connection.

Bookmark the Web sites used in the lesson on each computer in your classroom. Using a social bookmarking tool such as del.icio.us or diigo (or an online bookmarking utility such as portaportal) will allow you to organize all the links in a central location.

Make copies of the Student Organizers.

Next: Proceed to Activities

Lesson plans for THE ASCENT OF MONEY were created by the LAB@Thirteen, Thirteen’s Community and Educational Outreach Department.

1. Introduce the lesson by asking students if they have a savings or a checking account at a bank. Ask students if there are any other bank services that they have used? Ask students to think of the different services that banks provide. Write these services in a list on the board or a piece of chart paper. (Answers may include: checking accounts, savings accounts, CDs, special incentives like free student checking, or a “Keep the Change” program, credit cards, debit cards, insurance, currency exchange, money transfers, mortgages, home equity loans, refinancing, investments, mutual funds, auto loans, boat loans, student loans, business loans.)

2. Go through the list you have created of bank services with the class. One by one, review what each service involves, and decide if it involves money lending (the bank giving money to the customer or account holder) or not (the customer or account holder giving their own money to the bank). Review the Bank Services Answer Key (RTF) (PDF) for answers.

3. Divide the class into two groups, Consumers and Lenders. Distribute chart paper to each group. Ask the Consumers to think about the reasons they would want to use the bank services listed. Ask the Lenders to think about the reasons why banks would want to provide these services. Give the groups 10 – 15 minutes to discuss and list their answers on the chart paper.

4. Bring the two groups together and discuss each group’s answers as a class. (Reasons for Consumers should include: safety & security, convenience of payment, access to cash, earning interest, incentives to save. Reasons for Lenders should include: providing services for customers, helping people achieve financial goals, helping to generate economic activity, access to capital that the bank needs to provide loans, financial profit.)

5. As students can see, lending money is a huge component of the banking industry. Tell students that they are going to watch a video clip explaining the foundations of money lending. FRAME the first part of the clip, “Establishing Credit, Earning Interest,” by explaining to students that money lending is a risky endeavor, and the world financial system did not always have structures in place to guarantee repayment. Give students a FOCUS by asking them to note the root of the word “credit” as they watch the clip. PLAY Clip 1, PAUSE after “I believe.” FOLLOW UP by asking students for a working definition of “credit.” (The idea that you can lend money to someone and rely on them to pay it back at a later date.) Ask students how the concept of credit affects the consumer in bank services and transactions? How does it benefit the lender?

6. FRAME the second half of the clip by explaining that even with the trust established by credit, banks or money lenders still need assurance that their loans will be repaid, as well as compensation for their services as lenders. Give students a FOCUS by asking them to note a definition of “interest” as they watch the rest of the clip. PLAY the rest of “Establishing Credit, Earning Interest.” FOLLOW UP by reviewing the definition and writing it on the board. (Interest: the amount paid to the lender over and above the sum lent.) Ask students how the concept of interest affects both consumers and lenders in bank services and transactions?

7. Discuss with students the impact that credit and interest went on to have in the world of trade. Ask students:
• Why do you think credit and interest were essential to overseas trade? (Enabled people to have to money and goods they needed to trade)
• How is this same concept reflected in money-lending practices today? (Credit cards or loans enable people to buy things even if they don’t have the cash to buy them)
• How do the concepts of credit and interest, as incorporated into banking and money lending, help to stimulate economic growth? (Giving people credit means giving more loans which provides more work for lenders and more money in the system, increased revenue for lenders in the form of interest, and the creation of banking jobs as people want loans handled by professionals.) Give one example of how you think it may have stimulated growth in medieval times, and one example of how it works today. (Answers will vary.)

LEARNING ACTIVITY 1

1. Explain to students that with credit and interest as the foundation of international finance, it became possible for more advanced financial services to develop. Explain that in the Middle Ages, when the banking system as we know it began to evolve, the practice of lending money at interest was restricted to Jewish moneylenders.

2. FRAME Clip 2 , “Borrowing Time,” by asking if any of the students are familiar with the Shakespeare play “The Merchant of Venice.” Ask for (or provide, if students are not familiar with the play) a brief synopsis. (In “The Merchant of Venice,” Jewish moneylender Shylock lends money to Antonio, asking for a pound of flesh if the loan is not repaid. Explain that this play and the character of Shylock both reflected prevailing attitudes and helped to perpetuate many anti-Semitic stereotypes about Jews and money.) Give students a FOCUS by asking them to think about the following questions as they watch the clip:
• How were Jews set apart from other residents of Venice?
• What service was only provided by Jewish merchants? Why?
PLAY ”Borrowing Time.” FOLLOW UP by reviewing the questions and asking students for their answers. (1. They had to wear yellow “O”s or hats, and were confined to the ghetto nuovo. 2. They could lend money at interest; it was a sin for Christians to do so.) You may wish to explain to students that while the Christian church had declared usury to be a sin, the Jewish faith took a different perspective. Biblical interpretations suggest that the Old Testament declared that while Jews cannot lend at interest to other Jews, they are allowed to do so to non-Jewish people – therefore when Jewish merchants lent charged interest to Christians, it was not considered a sin.

3. Discuss with students why they think the Jewish merchants and moneylenders were so hated by the Christians. (Possibly because the Jews were engaged in a practice they considered to be a sin.) If the Christians were so opposed to the Jews, why did they still go to them for loans? (Likely because it was still necessary for Christians to obtain loans for business and trade.) Why didn’t the Christians just lend money to each other without interest? (Based on what students know about interest, it is not beneficial to the lender to give a loan without interest, so the Christians were probably reluctant to do so.)

4. FRAME Clip 3, “First Bank of the Medici,” by telling students that elsewhere in Italy, money lending was moving out of the ghettos, and was adopted by Christians as banking. One extremely wealthy family in Florence, the Medicis, adapted and revolutionized the established practices of banking. Give students a FOCUS by asking them to think about the following questions as they watch the clip:
• How did the Medicis enter into banking, if money lending at interest was a Christian sin?
• How did they earn revenue from bank services?
PLAY “First Bank of the Medici.” FOLLOW UP by reviewing the answers to the questions. (1. Earning money on foreign currency exchange. 2. Commission on currency conversions; funds to compensate for risking money deposited – rewarding credit with discreetly concealed interest payments.)

5. Lead students in a discussion about how banks may have transitioned from less formal organizations (merchants sitting on benches in the town square) to today’s reliable financial intermediaries.

LEARNING ACTIVITY 2

1. Ask students to make a list of the services that early banks provided, based on what they saw in the video. (Lending money, currency exchange, discretionary payments.) Compare and contrast this with the list of services that modern banks provide. What is the same? What has evolved or changed? What do they do now?

2. Tell students that a popular and accessible form of credit today comes in the form of a credit card. Ask students (either individually, or in pairs or small groups) to log on to the It Costs What?! Credit Card Primer, read through the information about credit cards, and take the quiz at the end. Give students a FOCUS by asking them to come up with a brief description of what credit cards are, how they work, and how interest relates to credit card use. Give students 5 – 10 minutes to review the site and come up with their answers.

3. When students have finished, ask for a couple of individuals or pairs/groups to share their descriptions. (Answers will vary, but should include: credit cards are a way to borrow money from a bank or other organization. When you make charges on a credit card, you are effectively taking out a loan from the bank for that amount. This loan must be repaid, and if you don’t pay your balance in full you will be charged interest on your debt to the bank. Interest is the cost of borrowing money from the bank.)

4. Ask students: how do credit and interest, in the form of a modern credit card, compare with the early forms of credit and interest they saw in the medieval Italian banks? What is the same? (People are accountable for their loans from the bank, and must pay interest on their debts.) What is different? (Technology has advanced, early on interest was perceived as a way to insure lenders against risky investments).

5. Distribute the Weekend Trip Invitation (PDF) (RTF) to students. The invitation describes a scenario where a friend has gotten a credit card, and is inviting the student on an expensive weekend trip; however, this hypothetical friend has little to no understanding of credit. Ask students, either in class or as a homework assignment, to write an email response to their friend explaining how credit and credit cards work, why banks are interested in lending money, what the friend should consider/think about, and least one historical example of banks and lending.

CULMINATING ACTIVITY

1. Ask students if they have ever lent money to a friend or someone close to them. What were some of the pros and cons of that experience? (Answers will vary but should address levels of trust between the borrower and the lender.) How did you, as the lender, benefit from that situation (if at all)?

2. Ask students if they would think of charging interest to a friend. (Likely not, but perhaps if the friend is unreliable, or they don’t expect the friend to be timely in their repayment of the loan.) Ask students how they would decide whether or not to loan money to a friend. Would they lend money to the hypothetical friend with the new credit card? (Answers will vary, but may include how much money the friend makes, how reliable they are in other areas, etc.)

3. Tell students that in order to give any kind of loan – be it a small business loan, credit card, home equity loan, etc. – the lender has to determine the borrower’s ability to repay the loan, or creditworthiness. Explain that throughout history, money lenders and banks have established different criteria for determining a borrower’s creditworthiness. Ask students to come up with some examples of what criteria they think medieval banks would have used to establish creditworthiness. (Answers will vary, but may include: how much money the borrower’s family had, how much land the borrower owns, what kind of trade the borrower engages in.)

4. Tell students that banks today have well-defined criteria for how they recognize a borrower’s creditworthiness. Divide students into pairs or small groups. Ask each pair/group to visit the Citibank “5 Cs” website. Explain that this website is an example of how one particular bank defines creditworthiness.

5. Explain to students that while these criteria can be a good indicator of creditworthiness, unfortunately being creditworthy alone does not always guarantee good use of loans or credit. Have the pairs/groups students log on to the Case Files section of “It Costs What?!” in a separate browser, and answer the questions based on the information.

6. As a FOCUS while reading and reviewing these websites, distribute the Creditworthiness Student Organizer (RTF) (PDF) to each student. Ask students to complete the Organizer as they learn about creditworthiness from the two websites, listing at least three examples of Responsible Credit Behavior and Irresponsible Credit Behavior that would apply to each of the five criteria listed on the Citibank website. Give students 15 – 20 minutes to complete the activity. When students have finished, ask for volunteers to share their answers with the class.