In this lesson, students learn about the efforts of Ethiopian reformers to create a modern agricultural commodities exchange in an economic environment historically dominated by inefficient tradition and government corruption.  They will be able to describe the limitations of traditional “face-to-face” commerce and the transformative potential of open and reliable trading markets. Also they will learn the key elements of a successful commodities exchange. Students will also learn about  the underlying causes of the 1984 Ethiopian famine and be able to describe the impact of the 2008 global economic crisis on the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange.