Economics and Peace Teaching Materials Portal

Author: The Aspen Institute Center for Business Education
Source: The Aspen Institute Center for Business Education
Year: 2011

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Abstract:

The Economics and Peace Collection provides a repository of teaching materials related to the role peace plays in the economic and organizational success of business.

The Importance of Peace for Business
Peace is good for business. Peaceful places are more viable for investment. Customers living in peaceful conditions purchase more goods. Workers in peaceful environments are more productive. Peace offers business new markets, lower costs and increased profits. While the moral value of peace is intuitive, the economic value of peace has rarely been explored, peace is not used to inform strategic business analysis, and is not a subject regularly taught in business schools.

Economics and Peace in Business Education
The challenge of teaching business students about peace partly stems from a fundamental lack of understanding of just what peace is and how it can be measured. The study of peace has traditionally been the study of conflict, but focusing on peace itself represents a unique opportunity for business students and for business schools. Business benefits immediately and materially from peace. A better understanding of peace can help business leaders make better strategic decisions and improve performance. Additionally, developing a business perspective on peace can contribute to our overall understanding of this fundamentally important topic.

This collection offers resources to help teach business students about peace. Many important questions are open for exploration. Why is peace good for business? How valuable is it? Can it be discounted or priced? What is the impact of the absence of peace (and therefore the presence of crime and violence) on a company’s cost structure? How can we measure levels of peacefulness? What factors should business look for when assessing peace? What can business do to create more peaceful environments? How can peace affect strategic business decision-making? How can companies encourage peace in the workplace and communities? How can investors factor peace into their analysis?

Using this Resource
Click here for the complete list of resources on economics and peace. We hope this collection grows and encourages further inquiry into the business and peace nexus. We strongly encourage your contributions to this collection to help develop a robust and valuable business perspective on peace.

Support
This portal was made possible by the generous support of the Institute for Economics and Peace.