Purpose You will need to be able to critically evaluate economic arguments and convey your reasoning to a general audience in writing. This writing assignment will help you develop these skills. You will need to demonstrate your ability to apply economic concepts and tools to different, more open-ended contexts. This will also help you develop your ability to apply and to view events through the lens of economics.The critical examination involves a few steps. First, translating a written argument into a form that can be analyzed using tools you have learned in class. The next step is to use these tools to critically examine the argument being made. The analysis involves doing more than merely paraphrasing the textbook, class notes, or using jargon. It involves things like identifying which model/tool is appropriate for this context, checking to see if the assumptions required are satisfied, identifying any changes in circumstances, and working through the predictions, etc. You need to be able to compare your analysis with the author’s arguments and be able to articulate any differences or similarities in a precise manner. The final step is translating all of this back into clear language that readers can easily understand.TaskThere will be two writing assignments in this course to give you practice and opportunities to get feedback on your writing. This is an individualwriting assignment.For this writing assignment, you will be given an economic podcast and will be asked to critically evaluate it. You will be graded on the quality and thoroughness of your analysis. Therefore, you will also be graded on the clarity, flow and overall cohesiveness of the writing in your paperPodcast:https://freakonomics.com/podcast/rent-control-rebroadcast/Paper OutlineIntroduction: The introduction (first paragraph) briefly summarizes what you consider to be the main point(s) of the article. If there are many, focus on the one(s) that you will analyze in the assignment.Summary: A short summary of the article should be included. This summary should capture the key points presented in the article and any important facts or elements. Do not spend the whole assignment summarizing the entire article. Summaries should be succinct and to the point and be approximately one paragraph. Analysis: Your analysis should use economic concepts you have learned in class. In other words, the analysis should focus on how topics covered in class are applicable/relevant to the real world. Be sure to demonstrate your analysis using graphs and/or models learned in class. Be careful to address the appropriate audience. Remember; narrow your focus so that your analysis can be more in-depth. That is much more important than hitting every point made in the article. Critical Evaluation: This is the most important aspect of this assignment.Students should focus on whether they agree with what is stated in the article or what their recommendations may be. Students can also analyze how the material in the article will impact the economy in a macro setting. The analysis portion has the potential to be varied in nature. However, I recommend sticking to my guidelines below:To evaluate an article you need first to understand the author’s arguments. Start by identifying the assumptions inherent in the argument, checking to see if the conclusions follow from these assumptions. Try to distinguish the argument from the evidence provided to support the argumentTo do a critical evaluation, essentially you should take apart the various steps in the argument and see if they make sense separately and as a whole. Can you use the tools learned in class to think about the argument in another way? Check to see if the author is missing anything in his/her argument or has used some tool or method incorrectly or inappropriately. Is there evidence that contradicts their argument? I expect you to use at least 1 economic model we have learned in class. (ie, Supply/Demand, Cost curves, Market structures - Perfect Competition, monopoly, monopolistic competition, etc- utility, etc).Conclusion: It is important to have a strong conclusion since this is the last chance you have to make an impression on your reader. The goal of your conclusion isn’t to introduce any new ideas, but to sum up, everything you’ve written. Specifically, your conclusion should accomplish three major goals: Restate the main idea of your essay, or your thesis statement.Summarize the main sub-points of your essay.Leave the reader with an interesting final impression.Works Cited: Works cited completed using MLA format. Must cite at least 3 sources. Class notes/lecture can account for one source. The textbook can account for one source.How to format your assignmentYour assignment should be typed, double-spaced, and have a font size of 12 points.The length of the assignment is not long, 3-4 pages.The assignment should be in Word.How to submit your assignmentYour assignment should be submitted through Canvas. Any drafts submitted through email will not be accepted.You will submit your writing as a word document. Other formats will not be accepted.Grammatical mistakesStudents are required to proofread their assignments prior to submitting first and final drafts. Students are recommended to utilize the campus-writing center to ensure any grammatical/writing errors are corrected. I generally do not give lower grades for grammatical mistakes. However, if the writing is too incomprehensible/unclear, there will be a reflection in the overall grade. You are encouraged to take advantage of Glendale Community College’s Writing Center. PlagiarismRemember: NO PLAGIARISM!!! Your electronic work will be scanned for plagiarism using University software tools. Students must work on their writing assignments individually. Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated. Students who commit any form of academic dishonesty described in the course syllabus and below will receive a grade “F” for their writing assignment. Academic Dishonesty: Any acts that violate the right of another student with respect to academic work or that involves misrepresentation of a student’s own academic work. Academic dishonesty includes (but is not limited to) cheating on assignments or exams; plagiarizing (misrepresenting as one’s own anything done by another); submitting the same or substantially similar papers for more than one course without the consent of all instructors concerned; depriving another of necessary course materials, or sabotaging another’s work.Plagiarism: This involves passing off anyone else’s work as your own, and includes copying a whole paper or parts of it and claiming it as your own work. It also includes turning in your own same or essentially similar paper for two or more courses. Glendale Community College has very strict rules concerning plagiarism. If you use any other person’s work, words, or ideas, please cite and acknowledge the sources. Note that Glendale Community College has purchased a program that allows professors to check if any student paper, essay, or research paper has been copied or paraphrased from the Internet. I will use this program to check for plagiarism.Note that Glendale Community College has purchased a program that allows professors to check if any student paper, essay, or research paper has been copied or paraphrased from the Internet. I will use this program to check for plagiarism.A plagiarism score of 15% or more will receive an automatic F.

Answer the following from the Problems Appendix in the back of your textbook on pp. 330-332, Chapter 9: Questions 1, 4, and 9 Chapter 10: Questions 3, 5, and 6Your completed Homework assignment should be at least three to four pages in length. All sources used, including the textbook, must be referenced; paraphrased and quoted material must have accompanying citations. All references and citations used must be in APA style.Textbook: McEachern, W. A. (2015). ECON macroeconomics (4th ed.). Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning.

Week 2 Discussion You are given the following scenarios for consideration. Select any two for your response.Scenario 1: Assume that the government imposed a price ceiling on gasoline in order to prevent prices from getting too high. What are the economic implications of this action in the gasoline markets? Use graphs as needed and explain your answers thoroughly.Scenario 2: Assume that the government imposed a price floor on wages (minimum wage) in order to make sure that workers can earn a living wage. Is this a price floor? What are the economic implications of this action in the labor markets? Use graphs as needed and explain your answers thoroughly.Scenario 3: What are the gains and losses of international trade? What happens when tariffs are imposed, in terms of the importing and exporting countries? Use graphs as needed and explain your answers thoroughly.Scenario 4: If the government doubled the tax on gasoline, would the tax revenues increase or decrease? Why? Use graphs as needed and explain your answers thoroughly.Deliverables: Using the scenarios above, prepare a 2-3 page Microsoft Word document that addresses 2 of the above scenarios and meets APA standards.Include a summary section in your report that contains5-7 bullet points identifying your major findings or conclusions of your paper. Submit the summary section as your initial post in the Discussion Area by the due date assigned. Include the full report as an attachment to your posting.Continue your discussions until the end of the week by commenting on at least two other submissions by your peers, identifying the strengths and weaknesses of each post.All submissions must be original and all resources must be properly acknowledged.Week 3 DiscussionFor each of the following situations, the market system has failed and/or just will not allocate resources efficiently:Situation 1: Firm A produces cement sifters. The process includes the melting of metals and chemicals which give the sifters strength. In the production process, waste is produced and released into the river that runs alongside of the plant.Situation 2: Some states allow students to attend certain universities within the state tuition free if they are a resident of that state. As a result of this policy, the state’s population is more educated and more productive in the workplace than many other states.Situation 3: You live in a small subdivision with several residents. The subdivision has one short dirt road that provides access to all the homes. Bob, one of the residents of the subdivision, just inherited a large sum of money and decides to have the road in the subdivision paved. After the paving, Bob asked the other residents to pay their fair share of the costs for the paving, but they all refused.Situation 4: The President of the United States has determined that the cost associated with national defense has become too expensive. In an effort to reduce costs and balance the budget, the President has asked the public to voluntarily pay for their fair share of the costs associated with national defense. One of his advisors insists that this would not work, another advisor thinks it’s good policy. Which advisor is correct?Deliverables: Using the scenarios above, prepare a 2-3 page Microsoft Word document that addresses 2 of the above scenarios and meets APA standards.Include a summary section in your report that contains5-7 bullet points identifying your major findings or conclusions of your paper. Submit the summary section as your initial post in the Discussion Areaby the due date assigned. Include the full report as an attachment to your posting.Continue your discussions until the end of the week by commenting on at least two other submissions by your peers, identifying the strengths and weaknesses of each post.All submissions must be original and all resources must be properly acknowledged.Week 4 DiscussionThe market structures influence how price and output decisions are made by the firms in their respective structure. In all market structures, one of the primary goals is to maximize profits or minimize losses.One of the major differences between these market structures is how price and output decisions are made, which in turn depends on the characteristics of each market structure. There are four market structures:Perfect competitionMonopolistic competitionOligopolyMonopolyTasks:Construct a table that describes the various characteristics of each market structure.Identify a firm for each of these market structures and explain why each firm belongs in the market structure identified.Using Microsoft Excel, construct a graph for each of the market structures and explain how price and output decisions are made in each structure and how they differ.How is marginal analysis used in the price and output decisions of firms in the various market structures?Deliverables:Prepare a 2-3 page Microsoft Word document that addresses the questions above and meets APA standards.Include a summary section in your report that contains5-7 bullet points identifying your major findings or conclusions of your paper. Submit the summary section as your initial post in the Discussion Area by the due date assigned. Include the full report as an attachment to your posting.Continue your discussions until the end of the week by commenting on at least two other submissions by your peers, identifying the strengths and weaknesses of each post.All submissions must be original and all resources must be properly acknowledged.Week 5 DiscussionListed below are several summary statements from the 2010 Census report: The official poverty rate in 2010 was 15.1 percent—up from 14.3 percent in 2009. This was the third consecutive annual increase in the poverty rate. Since 2007, the poverty rate has increased by 2.6 percentage points, from 12.5 percent to 15.1 percent.In 2010, 46.2 million people were in poverty, up from 43.6 million in 2009—the fourth consecutive annual increase in the number of people in poverty.Between 2009 and 2010, the poverty rate increased for non-Hispanic Whites (from 9.4 percent to 9.9 percent), for Blacks (from 25.8 percent to 27.4 percent), and for Hispanics (from 25.3 percent to 26.6 percent). For Asians, the 2010 poverty rate (12.1 percent) was not statistically different from the 2009 poverty rate.1The poverty rate in 2010 (15.1 percent) was the highest poverty rate since 1993 but was 7.3 percentage points lower than the poverty rate in 1959, the first year for which poverty estimates are available.The number of people in poverty in 2010 (46.2 million) is the largest number in the 52 years for which poverty estimates have been published.Between 2009 and 2010, the poverty rate increased for children under age 18 (from 20.7 percent to 22.0 percent) and people aged 18 to 64 (from 12.9 percent to 13.7 percent), but was not statistically different for people aged 65 and older (9.0 percent).2Refer to United States Census Bureau for this assignmentTasks:Select any three of the sixsummary statements and explain in detail the significance and possible causes of each item.Be sure to use the economic concepts and polices discussed in your textbook where applicable.Identify possible economic policies that may explain these items and/or those which could be used to deal with the problems or situations described.Deliverables:Prepare a 5-7 page Microsoft Word document that addresses the above tasks and meets APA standards.Include a summary section in your report that contains5-7 bullet points identifying your major findings or conclusions of your paper. Submit the summary section as your initial post in the Discussion Area by the due date assigned. Include the full report as an attachment to your posting.Continue your discussions until the end of the week by commenting on at least two other submissions by your peers, identifying the strengths and weaknesses of each post.All submissions must be original and all resources must be properly acknowledged.