Econ 201, Spring 2021 Dr. Chiara Gratton-Lavoie WRITING ASSIGNMENT Deadline: Thursday, May 20 @NOON (SUBMIT ONLINE on CANVAS) Late submissions will automatically incur a 5% deduction for each HOUR past the deadline (and proportionally for any fraction of the hour) For this writing assignment, you need to read the short article: “Palm Oil Market Is Looking Like a Hands-Down Winner” by Lucy Craymer, published in The Wall Street Journal on January 21, 2021. The article is posted on Canvas. The article illustrates a number of economic concepts we have discussed in our lectures. Your assignment consists of writing a SHORT essay that describes the MAIN FACTS discussed in this article and provides a basic interpretation of the article’s economic content. More specifically, please follow the instructions provided below and answer the questions specified in these instructions. You may use as references the article, your textbook, and your class notes. Note that any collaboration among students on writing this short paper will be considered a violation of the Honor Code. Step 1: Print out and read carefully the article assigned. Print out and read carefully this instruction sheet. Step 2: Follow the instructions below carefully. They are providing you with the guidelines needed to structure your assignment correctly, Assignment Details/Rules (not following these requirements will FOR SURE negatively impact your grade) Your essay must incorporate the points listed below. 1. 2. Please provide one paragraph (or at most two) summarizing the main points raised by the author concerning the recent developments in the global market for palm oil. Please do so using YOUR OWN WORDS. Try to think like an economist/market analyst, therefore focus your brief summary on what really matters (hint: the article details the main events/factors that have determined an increase in the price of palm oil, because they have caused changes in demand and/or supply conditions in this market) Now focus on the economic information presented in the article. More specifically, answer the following questions:   Draw and label a graph that depicts a demand curve and a supply curve in the market for palm oil. Indicate in the graph the equilibrium price and quantity of palm oil. Describe in words only (i.e. no need to show it in the graph) how the equilibrium price and quantity would change if the demand curve shifts to the right (i.e. demand increases). Separately, describe in words only how the equilibrium price and quantity of palm oil would change if the supply curve shifts to the left (i.e. supply decreases). From the article: “In Malaysia and Indonesia… labor shortages caused by the coronavirus pandemic have reduced production [of palm oil], while major consumers China and India are buying more for cooking and manufacturing.” Briefly describe in words how the market for palm oil is affected by: 4. 5. (a) labor shortages caused by the coronavirus pandemic; (b) an increase in purchases by Chinese and Indian consumers. Please use economic terminology as you answer the question (namely, talk about changes in demand and/or changes in supply). Draw a second graph like the one you drew to answer the previous question, and now represent the changes in demand and the changes in supply in this graph.  In drawing the second graph that represents the changes in demand and supply of palm oil, please pay attention to what you know about price and sales in the palm oil market based on the information in this article. Do remember what you learned: when both demand and supply change, the net impact on the equilibrium price and/or quantity depends on whether the change in demand is larger or smaller than the change in supply. What can you say about the relative size of the shifts of demand and supply that occurred recently in this market? Explicitly quote specific lines in the article to elaborate on this point.  There is a passage in the article that essentially refers to the positive effect on the demand for palm oil due to changes in prices of products that are substitutes of palm oil. Please quote the passage. Your submission should be no longer than TWO PAGES. Any additional page will not be considered. Do not include a separate Reference section (only textbook, article, and lecture notes shall be your references). Please do not waste your time thinking about a title either! All work you submit MUST BE done ENTIRELY using the computer. You MUST use Times New Roman font, 12 point, one-inch margins on all sides, and single space. Leave one blank line between paragraphs in your write-up. Do not indent paragraphs. On each page, create a header where you will include your full name and the class section (e.g. Econ 201 SECTION 51) on the top right corner. DEADLINE (not respecting the deadline will FOR SURE negatively impact your grade) You must turn in your assignment no later than Thursday, May 20, by noon. A late submission will incur automatically a 5% deduction for each hour past the deadline. You may choose to turn in a draft, submitting it to me no later than Friday, May 7, by noon. You will email your draft to me at cgratton@fullerton.edu. I will return the draft to you with a tentative grade and, if needed, recommendations on how you may improve your score. If you decide to revise your work, it is expected that you will use the feedback received on the first draft to improve your writing and analysis in the final draft. Please note that at any time between now and May 20 you are welcome to discuss with me your preliminary work. Just come by during office hours or reach out to me to schedule an appointment. No late submission of the draft will be accepted. You are welcome to discuss your preliminary work with me during office hours or set up a separate appointment for that purpose. GRADING I will evaluate your work based on the following criteria: a. The quality of your writing (separate from the quality of your analysis). b. Grammar, spelling, sentence structure. c. The quality of your economic analysis. d. Adherence to all the above-specified requirements. *PLAGIARISM WILL RESULT IN A GRADE OF F IN THE COURSE. IF PLAGIARISM IS SUSPECTED, YOU WILL BE ASKED TO SUBMIT AN ELECTRONIC COPY OF YOUR WORK VIA TURNITIN.COM.* Palm Oil Market Is Looking Like a Hands-Down Winner - WSJ 1 of 5 https://www.wsj.com/articles/palm-oil-is-looking-like-a-hands-down-wi... 4/27/2021, 11:33 AM Palm Oil Market Is Looking Like a Hands-Down Winner - WSJ 2 of 5 https://www.wsj.com/articles/palm-oil-is-looking-like-a-hands-down-wi... 4/27/2021, 11:33 AM Palm Oil Market Is Looking Like a Hands-Down Winner - WSJ 3 of 5 https://www.wsj.com/articles/palm-oil-is-looking-like-a-hands-down-wi... 4/27/2021, 11:33 AM Palm Oil Market Is Looking Like a Hands-Down Winner - WSJ 4 of 5 https://www.wsj.com/articles/palm-oil-is-looking-like-a-hands-down-wi... 4/27/2021, 11:33 AM Palm Oil Market Is Looking Like a Hands-Down Winner - WSJ 5 of 5 https://www.wsj.com/articles/palm-oil-is-looking-like-a-hands-down-wi... 4/27/2021, 11:33 AM
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