econ essay
197 Topic List #3
1. Is there a justification for the unintended consequences of price controls? Use an actual example in your argument and discuss the unintended consequences.
2. Explain how economists treat self-interest as a universal motivator. What experiments have we done to illustrate this phenomenon. Does self-interest mean monetary self-interest?
3. The government is often criticized for being “inefficient.” (FEMA for example). Do you think equity outweighs efficiency in this context? Are these two criteria necessarily in opposition to each other?
4. Discuss the sunk-cost fallacy in the context of a Federal or State policy. In other words, identify a government policy that suffers from the sunk-cost fallacy.
5. Discuss a policy in which the efficiency/equity tradeoff is apparent.
6. The United States and Europe responded differently to the 2007-2009 global economic crisis. The US government implemented some expansionary fiscal policies while many European countries implemented austerity measures. Which one do you think was more effective? Does the data support your conclusion or do you think that it is impossible to really know the answer to this question because of other factors?
7. Why is global warming so difficult to solve politically? What factors impede a coordinated response?
8. Do you think the net effect of immigration has a positive or negative impact on the economy in the United States?
9. What will be the effect of climate change on the United States economy? (could do CA)
10. Explain the collapse of the economy in 2008 to a lay person.
11. Is there evidence that OPEC purposely drove down the price of oil by increasing production in order to drive out other global producers such as the United States and Canada? Discuss the evidence of OPECs strategy over the past 10 years.
12. The United States is one of the wealthiest countries but also has the highest wealth inequality. Is this trade-off necessary?
13. What was the best or worst (or both?) economic policy formulated by the Obama administration and why?
15. The United States has a relatively high rate of poverty compared to other developed countries. Why is that? Will there always be poverty? (this could be a separate question)