General
Instructions for All Papers ~/~
Paper 1
~/~ Paper
2 ~/~ Paper
3 ~/~ Paper
4
Required:
- all papers must be typed, double
spaced, and stapled in the upper left
corner
- they should have NO cover page,
plastic covers, etc.
- the first page of your
paper must include:
- paper title and
number
- student's name and CLASS
MEETING TIME
- a TOPIC OUTLINE of your paper.
For instructions on how to write and outline see:
HOW
TO WRITE AN OUTLINE
- then start the
paper
- write the paper as you would an
English composition with complete sentences, correct punctuation,
etc.
- all papers MUST be more than one
paragraph
- paragraphs must correspond to
your TOPIC OUTLINE. See: HOW
TO WRITE AN OUTLINE
- usually a paragraph will
correspond to a Roman numeral (I. II. III. IV. etc.) on your
topic outline
- GRAPHS: if the paper includes a
graph (papers 2 and 3)
- the graphs must be explained
and discussed IN THE PAPER
- Hand-drawn graphs are required
!!!
- tell the reader when to refer
to the graphs
- graphs WILL NOT contain
numbered axes, exact data is not important, we are concerned
with CHANGES
- graphs must be re-drawn on all
rewrites.
- REWRITES - Papers can be
rewritten for full credit with the following restrictions:
- original papers must be
turned in by the due date to earn the chance to be
rewritten. Papers can be turned in late but they cannot be
rewritten.
- No rewrites, or original
papers, can be handed in later than the final due date posted
on the schedule,
usually the 6th class period from the date the original is
handed back. See due dates on the class schedule.
- You must hand in all
earlier drafts with your rewrite. Earlier drafts must be
stapled to the BACK of the rewrite.
- Graphs must be re-drawn on all
rewrites
- GRADING: 10 points total, but
students will only receive a 0, 1, 2, 3, or 10, only an "F" or an
"A", so the chance to rewrite the paper is important. An initial
due date for all papers and the final due date for rewrites will
be announced in class and posted on the schedule.
Paper 1: the 5 E's
(Lesson 1b)
|
See the "General
Instructions" at the top of
this webpage. You must have a topic outline. See: HOW
TO WRITE AN OUTLINE
Define the "5 Es" and relate each
definition to the concept of SCARCITY and the goal of MAXIMIZING
SOCIETY'S SATISFACTION. Explain by using realistic examples of
how economic growth, allocative efficiency, productive
efficiency, equity, and full employment affect
scarcity. Please keep the paper as short as possible. For each of the
Es you should have something like:
- "The definition of E ________ is
. . . ."
- E________ increases society's
satisfaction because . . . ."
- An example of how E______
increases society's satisfaction is . . . ."
This paper is based on information
from lesson 1b [class lectures and http://www.harpercollege.edu/mhealy/eco211f/5es/5e.htm].
Be sure to read and study lesson 1b before writing your
paper.
If you need to rewrite this paper
ONLY REWRITE the "Es" that you got wrong. DO NOT just change the
paragraphs that you got wrong and hand in the whole paper again
including the paragraphs that were correct in a previous draft. You
will have to DELETE the paragraphs that were OK and just hand in
rewrites of the paragraphs that you got wrong.
Paper 2: Supply and
Demand (Lessons 3a, 3b, 3c)
|
See the "General
Instructions" at the top of
this webpage. You must have a topic outline. See: HOW
TO WRITE AN OUTLINE
Find a news article on an INDIVIDUAL
PRODUCT whose PRICE and/or QUANTITY SOLD has changed. The article
should indicate why the price and/or quantity has
changed by noting which non-price determinants of demand or
supply have changed. The article must mention at least TWO
non-price determinants that have changed. If the article mentions
more, then you must discuss them in your paper as well. If you cannot
find an article that mentions two different determinants then you may
use two different articles that mention only one determinant each,
but they must be different determinants.
SAMPLE ARTICLES:
http://cnn.com/US/9907/27/gas.prices/
http://cnn.com/US/9908/09/rv.boom/
INSTRUCTIONS
Use supply and demand graphs to show
changes in the equilibrium price and/or quantity was caused by the
changes in the non-price determinants. Clearly discuss what happened
to the non-price determinants, what happened to supply and demand,
and what happened to the price and quantity sold of the product as a
result. Explain your graph in your paper. Do not summarize the
article. Write a paper about the graph.
The following are also REQUIRED
for paper 2:
- See the "General
Instructions" at the top
of this webpage. You must have a topic outline. See:
HOW
TO WRITE AN OUTLINE
- News articles must be printed and
stapled to the back of your paper
- Include bibliographic data.
(Where did you get the article?)
- On the article CIRCLE and
LABEL the statements that indicate that a non-price
determinant of supply or demand has changed. You must write on the
article. You must circle or highlight the sentence or sentences
that indicate that a non-price determinant has changed AND you
must write which determinant it is.
- Your paper MUST include a supply
and demand graph.
- Your graph must show the
changes in demand and/or supply that caused the change in
equilibrium price and quantity. This means that the demand
and/or supply curves must shift.
- The graph must show the change
in equilibrium price and quantity mentioned in the article.
Example: P1, P2, Q1,and Q2.
- In your paper you must say
something like " . . . therefore demand has increased. This
will shift the demand curve to the right. On the graph below
you can see that an increase in demand will shift the demand
curve from D1 to D2. As a result, the price of the product will
increase (from P1 to P2) and the quantity will increase (from
Q1 to Q2)."
- If you are discussing one
product, then all changes should be made ON THE SAME
GRAPH.
- Hand-drawn graphs, well
labeled, are required.
- On your graph be sure to label
the horizontal axis with the product that you are discussing
(for example "Q of gasoline" or Q of boats"). THIS IS
REQUIRED.
- Supply and demand must be
drawn on the SAME GRAPH with the equilibrium price and quantity
clearly labeled.
Before beginning to look for a
news article and writing your paper:
- read and study chapter
3
- watch the chapter 3
videos
- do the chapter 3 Required
Activity and all of the Yellow Pages for chapter 3
- attend class and take plenty of
notes
- rewrite your notes from
class
Purpose of the
Paper:
- The purpose of this paper is to
show me that you understand how to use supply and demand graphs to
explain why prices change.
- Do not summarize the article,
but rather explain your graph.
- Let me say this again. Do not
summarize the article. Only use the parts of the article that
explain the change in price and quantity. You should be
summarizing the textbook and class notes to EXPLAIN YOUR
GRAPH.
Grading:
- 0/10 means that you did not
follow the instructions and start over (if you handed in your
original paper on time).
- 1/10 means get a new article and
start over (if you handed in your original paper on
time).
- 2/10 means that only one
determinant was found in the the article. If you handed your paper
in on time you may get a new article that has two determinants and
write another paper OR use the first article using that one
determinant AND find another article with one more determinant and
write another paper.
- 3/10 means that two or more
determinants were found in the article, but you must rewrite your
analysis
- 10/10 means you are
done!
Examples of how you should analyze
the article:
Other Useful and Short
Videos:
Paper 3: Should some
prices be higher? (Lesson 5a)
|
First: WATCH
THIS KEY PROBLEM VIDEO
See the "General
Instructions" at the top of
this webpage. You must have a topic outline. See: HOW
TO WRITE AN OUTLINE
According to lesson 5a, when NEGATIVE
EXTERNALITIES exist, the free market will produce TOO MUCH and sell
it at a price that is TOO LOW to achieve allocative efficiency. In
other words the market fails to achieve allocative efficiency. When
this happens, governments often step in to modify the market price
(and therefore the quantity sold) in order to improve the allocation
of resources. Below are TWO DIFFERENT news article that discuss such
efforts by the government. SELECT ONE (but you may want
to read or listen to both) and write an analysis using the negative
externality graph we used in class (see the Yellow Pages for lesson
5a) explaining why the price was too low and how the
goverment might correct the market failure. Be sure to discuss
all that is assigned below.
SELECT ONE OF THESE TWO
NEWS ARTICLES:
|
A Higher Tax on
Gasoline is Proposed ["Arguing the Upside of High
Gas Prices", National Public Radio (NPR), Morning
Edition, 9/22/05]
- http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4858826
- One writer believes
gas prices actually should be higher.
- Steve Inskeep talks
with James Surowiecki, a financial columnist for The
New Yorker who says a 50-cent gas tax would make
drivers pay for the real cost of cars on the road and
make business cater to the fuel-conscious.
- " . . .using gasoline
has all these costs that are not incorporated in the
gas price, and one of the things a gas tax does is try
to get you to pay for those costs. "
|
SUGGESTIONS:
Past semesters many students had to
rewrite this paper multiple times because they tried to write the
paper without doing the following FIRST:
- read the paper instructions
several times
- read the textbook assignment for
lesson 5a -Externalities: pp. pp. 96-103 (19th,
105-109)
- Read in the textbook "Changes in
Supply", pp. 60-62 (19th, 54-56)
- Watch the following assigned
videos for lesson 5a: MARKET FAILURE: NEGATIVE
EXTERNALITIES
- Read, study, and do, the
following Unit 1 Yellow Pages:
- Yellow Pages 22-27 (Benefit
Cost Analysis)
- Yellow Pages pp. 68-71
(Supply, Demand, and Economic Efficiency)
- Yellow Page 79 !!!!! (NEGATIVE
EXTERNALITIES)
- Yellow Page 83-85 (Quick
Quiz)
- Now: OUTLINE your paper.
See: HOW
TO WRITE AN OUTLINE. I suggest
the following brief outline - yours must be longer:
- I. Introduction: Markets are
usually efficient if there are no externalities (lesson 3c,
Yellow Pages 68-71)
II. Using a graph to show how
negative externalities cause allocative inefficiency (lesson
3c, Yellow Page 79)
III. Using a graph to show how
a higher tax can make this market more efficient
Your outline should be
much more complete and it should include everything that
is assigned (see below).
INSTRUCTIONS:
See the "General
Instructions" at the top of
this webpage. You must have a topic outline. See: HOW
TO WRITE AN OUTLINE
Write a short paper WITH A GRAPH that
includes the following:
- Introduction: Markets are
usually efficient if there are no externalities (lesson
3c)
- Using a graph to show how
negative externalities cause allocative inefficiency (price too
low, quantity too high)
- So far we have studied two models that we can use to show
that markets are efficient or inefficient: (1) Benefit-Cost
Analysis (MSB=MSC) and (2) maximizing consumer and producer
surplus and minimizing deadweight loss. The textbook and the
videos discuss both of these models. It would be great if you
could use both models in your paper, but I only require using
Benefit-Cost Analysis (MSB = MSC).
- what are the negative
externalities and who are the "third parties"
affected?
- HOW DO THE NEGATIVE
EXTERNALITIES AFFECT THE SUPPLY AND DEMAND GRAPH? You must
explain why the supply curve with negative externalities is to
the right of the MSC curve. This must be done to explain why
"too much" will be produced if there are negative
externalities
- Discuss in your paper and
show on the graph:
- the inefficient quantity
that we get without the proposed taxes (where Qd =
Qs)
- the profit maximizing
quantity and price (where Qd = Qs)
- the allocatively efficient
quantity and price (where MSB=MSC)
- the quantity that WE GET
when there are negative externalities (where Qd =
Qs)
- the quantity that WE WANT =
the allocatively efficient quantity (where
MSB=MSC)
- the quantity where
MSB=MSC
- Using a graph to show how a
higher tax can make this market more efficient
- show the effect of the higher
tax on your graph and discuss in your paper
- show how the tax affect sthe
price and quantity on your graph and discuss in your
paper
- discuss how does the tax
affects allocative efficiency
OTHER
- Hand-drawn graphs, well
labeled, are required!!!
- Be sure to follow the
"General
Instructions" at the top
of this webpage. You must have a topic outline. See:
HOW
TO WRITE AN OUTLINE
- The purpose of the paper is to
EXPLAIN THE GRAPH. You must explain the graph in your paper (you
cannot just say "see graph below"). Don't put anything on the
graph that is not explained in the paper. If you have a "Q1" on
your graph I want you to discuss "Q1" in your paper.
- REMEMBER: you must explain why
the supply curve with negative externalities is to the right of
the MSC curve. This must be done to explain why "too much" will be
produced if there are negative externalities and no
taxes
- If you need help, ask in class,
post a question on the Blackboard Discussion Board, or see me
during my office
hours.
- WATCH
THIS KEY PROBLEM VIDEO
Paper 4: Elasticity
(Lesson 4a)
|
See the "General
Instructions" at the top of
this webpage. You must have a topic outline. See: HOW
TO WRITE AN OUTLINE
Discuss the price elasticity of
demand for the product in your article from paper 2.
- Explain whether you think the
market demand for your product is price elastic or price inelastic
and justify your answer by discussing three of the four
DETERMINANTS of price elasticity of demand: (1) number of
substitutes, (2) luxury or necessity, and (3) price a a percent of
income. (Do not discuss "time between when the price
changes and when we measure elasticity"). If your product is
listed on the table of price elasticities in the textbook (20th
ed. ch. 6; 19th ed. ch. 4) you must include the coefficient of
price elasticity of demand in your paper and discuss.
- Finally, discuss why it is
important to know the price elasticity of demand. This means, what
happens to total revenues when the price changed?
- Did the price of your product
increase or decrease in your article?
- As a result of that price
change and from what we know about price elasticitry of demand:
Would total revenues increase or decrease?
- Explain WHY total revenues
would cincrease or decrease. Be sure to talk about HOW MUCH the
quantity demanded changes (a little or a lot) when the price
changes and how that affects total revenue.
