Macro Economics

ECON 201 Optional Essay for the 1st Exam F19

If you choose to do this essay, it must be typed, well-constructed and proof-read. You must use proper documentation/citation throughout (MLA, Chicago, APSA or other discipline specific citation method). When in doubt use the MLA. This is used in ENG 102. The essay will be worth fifty percent of your first midterm exam grade with the other fifty percent based on the multiple choice questions. If you choose not to do the essay, 100 percent of your grade will be based on the multiple choice questions. Your final essay should be four to five pages (do not exceed seven), double-spaced of text in addition to figures (in a reasonable font, i.e., 10, 11 or 12, Times Roman, no spaces between paragraphs, one-inch margins). Submit an electronic form to Safeassign in Blackboard 11 pm on Friday, November 1st at 11:59pm. No late essays will be accepted. You must turn in an electronic copy to Blackboard to receive credit for the essay (if you have had issues please see IT). Label your final essay with your last name and class (9 or 10) and title. No hard copy need be submitted.

Submitting papers to SafeAssign

1)Log into Blackboard account https://blackboard.western.edu

2) Go to Course Content for the Class

3) Go to Optional Essay I (with green check mark icon)

4) Upload your paper.

5) Click submit.

6) You can click on view/complete to see if your paper is uploaded. You can also check for plagiarism.

You are done.

Include the following in your analysis:

· Do not forget your heading.

· Do not forget an engaging title.

· A brief introduction that lays out a thesis and situates your argument.

· Evidence from the articles formally integrated into your argument.

· A conclusion that summarizes your findings.

· Proper citation (of quotations and paraphrasing and ideas/data from sources). Citation is NOT just for direct quotations. Include in-text or footnotes and works cited or bibliography. I will deduct significantly for non-existent, sporadic or improper citation. The basic philosophy is to give credit where credit is due.

Option #1 Ester Duflo and Ahijit Banerjee on Poverty and Randomized Control Experiments

Use the sources (use several—I would start with the TED Talk) below to explain the research that won the Noble Prize for Duflo and Banerjee. What are they trying to do? What are examples of what they study and how they study it? Why is this a departure for thinking on global development issues? What is your take on the theoretical strategy?

TED Talk (Duflo): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zvrGiPkVcs.

Oriana Bandiera. “Alleviating poverty with experimental research: The 2019 Nobel laureates.” VoxEU (October 21, 2019). https://voxeu.org/article/alleviating-poverty-experimental-research-2019-nobel-laureates.

Economist (Banerjee): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsWKgn9092g.

After Poor Economics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nd4BQE3K0SQ.

Nice summary of their work at Marginal Revolution Blog: https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2019/10/the-nobel-prize-in-economic-science-goes-to-banerjee-duflo-and-kremer.html.

Instead (Duflo), “The Economist as Plumber”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K45aKtsT_a8.

VoxEU (Duflo): https://voxeu.org/content/women-economics-esther-duflo-3-breaking-habits and https://voxeu.org/content/randomized-controlled-trials.

Option #2: William Nordhaus and Climate Change Economics

Using the readings below (you need not use them all), analyze the macroeconomic implications of climate change. Why did Nordhaus win the Nobel Prize? What were his contributions? How does climate change alter the way we should model and think about the macroeconomy? Choose five of so from below.

Jose Antonio Ocampo. “The Economics of the Climate Crisis.” Project Syndicate (October 19, 2018). https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/economics-of-climate-crisis-by-jose-antonio-ocampo-2018-10. Pdf in pickup folder.

Coral Davenport. “After Nobel in Economics, William Nordhaus Talks About Who’s Getting His Pollution-Tax Ideas Right.” New York Times (October 13, 2018). https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/13/climate/nordhaus-carbon-tax-interview.html.

Kenneth Gillingham. “William Nordhaus and the costs of climate change.” VoxEU (October 19, 2018). https://voxeu.org/article/william-nordhaus-and-costs-climate-change.

Kevin Bryan. “How We Create and Destroy Growth: The 2018 Nobel Laureates.” VoxEU (October 11, 2018). https://voxeu.org/article/how-we-create-and-destroy-growth-2018-nobel-laureates.

Lynn Scarlett. “An Optimist’s Guide to Climate Change.” Project Syndicate (January 9, 2019). https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/fighting-climate-change-with-innovative-policymaking-by-lynn-scarlett-2019-01. In pickup folder.

Robert Pollin. “Think We Can’t Stabilize the Climate While Fostering Growth? Think Again.” The Nation (October 27, 2015). https://www.thenation.com/article/think-we-cant-stabilize-the-climate-while-fostering-growth-think-again/. Pdf in pickup folder.

Ivan Ascher. “Why Markets Can’t Cool the Planet.” Project Syndicate (April 16, 2018). https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/climate-change-no-market-solution-by-ivan-ascher-2018-04. Pdf in pickup folder.

Kumi Naidoo. “The Coming Wave of Climate Displacement.” Project Syndicate (May 25, 2018). https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/climate-change-global-compacts-migration-refugees-by-kumi-naidoo-2018-05. Pdf in pickup folder.

Michael Spense. “The Restructuring of the World.” Project Syndicate (September 27, 2018). https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/china-us-global-economy-restructuring-by-michael-spence-2018-09. Pdf in pickup folder.

Gulrez Shah Azhar. “Weathering the Violence of Climate Change.” Project Syndicate (August 15, 2017). https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/climate-change-political-violence-social-unrest-by-gulrez-s--azhar-2017-08. Pdf in pickup folder.

Mark Leonard. “Present at the Destruction.” Project Syndicate (September 28, 2018). https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/end-of-post-war-multilateralism-by-mark-leonard-2018-09. Pdf in pickup folder.

Carl Bilt. “The Case Against Climate Despair.” Project Syndicate (September 24, 2018). https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/case-against-climate-despair-by-carl-bildt-2018-09. Pdf in pickup folder.

J. Bradford DeLong. “For Whom the Climate Bell Tolls.” Project Syndicate (September 7, 2018). https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/climate-change-global-implications-by-j--bradford-delong-2018-09. Pdf in pickup folder.

Erik Solheim and William Lacey Swing. “Making Migration Safe for Climate Nexus.” Project Syndicate (August 21, 2018). https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/climate-change-driving-unsafe-migration-by-erik-solheim-and-william-l--swing-2018-08. Pdf in pickup folder.

Daniel Blitz and Robert Dugger. “America’s Hidden Debt.” Project Syndicate (August 24, 2018). https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/america-hidden-debt-infrastructure-climate-change-by-daniel-blitz-and-robert-dugger-1-2018-08. Pdf in pickup folder.

Option #3: The Financial Crisis Ten Years On

Based on the readings below (you need not use them all), what are the lessons from the Global Financial Crisis? Have we learned them? Are we prepared for the next one? For the Financial Times articles, see Pdfs in my pickup folder under Optional Exam Essays. Choose five or so from below.

Gillian Tett. “Have We Learnt the Lessons of the Financial Crisis?” Financial Times (August 31, 2018). https://on.ft.com/2NuNj15. In pickup folder.

Jeffrey Frankel. “The Next Recession Could Be a Bad One.” VoxEU (September 14, 2018). https://voxeu.org/content/next-recession-could-be-bad-one.

Howard Davies. “Was the Financial Crisis Wasted?” Project Syndicate (August 29, 2018). https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/diverse-responses-to-the-2008-financial-crisis-by-howard-davies-2018-08 Pdf in pickup folder.

Jim Oneill. “The Global Economy Ten Years After.” Project Syndicate (September 10, 2018). https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/the-global-economy-ten-years-after-crisis-by-jim-o-neill-2018-09 Pdf in pickup folder.

Nouriel Roubini. “Is the Financial Crisis Already Brewing?” Financial Times (September 11, 2018). https://www.ft.com/content/58d1ce9c-b5a2-11e8-bbc3-ccd7de085ffe. In Pickup Folder.

Martin Wolf. “Why So Little Has Changed Since the Financial Crash.” Financial Times (September 3, 2018). https://on.ft.com/2NxmyJi. In pickup folder.

“America’s Recovery Breeds Complacency about Macroeconomic Risks.” The Economist (September 6, 2018). https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2018/09/06/americas-recovery-breeds-complacency-about-macroeconomic-risks.

Ben S. Bernanke, Timothy F. Geithner and Henry M. Paulson Jr. “What We Need to Fight the Next Financial Crisis.” New York Times (September 7, 2018). https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/07/opinion/sunday/bernanke-lehman-anniversary-oped.html?partner=rss&emc=rss.

Richard Baldwin, Thomas Huertas, Tessa Ogden. “Ten years after the crisis: Looking back, looking forward.” VoxEU (October 13, 2017). https://voxeu.org/article/ten-years-after-crisis-looking-back-looking-forward.

“The World Has Not Learned the Lessons of the Financial Crisis.” The Economist (September 6, 2018). https://www.economist.com/leaders/2018/09/06/the-world-has-not-learned-the-lessons-of-the-financial-crisis.

Stephen Cecchetti and Kim Schoenholtz. “The Financial Crisis: Ten Years on.” VoxEU (August 29, 2017). https://voxeu.org/article/financial-crisis-ten-years.

Harold James. “What Lehman Brothers’ Failure Means Today.” Project Syndicate (September 4, 2018). https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/lehman-brothers-ten-year-anniversary-by-harold-james-2018-09. Also in pickup folder.

Sam Fleming. “Janet Yellen Sounds Alarm Over Plunging Loan Standards.” Financial Times (October 24, 2018). https://www.ft.com/content/04352e76-d792-11e8-a854-33d6f82e62f8. In pickup folder.

Option #4: Analysis of the GDP Concept

Write an analytical critique (positives and negatives) of Gross Domestic Product’s usefulness as a measure of economic activity and as a measure of economic welfare. Is this an adequate measure or what should a better measure look like? Explain based on the readings below (you need not use them all, choose at least five, they are all short.).

Diane Coyle. “What Will Succeed GDP?” Project Syndicate (February 14, 2019). https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/successor-to-gdp-indicator-of-prosperity-by-diane-coyle-2019-02. In Pickup folder.

Jim Oneill. “The Future of Economic Growth.” Project Syndicate (April 11, 2019). https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/gdp-growth-us-uk-china-brics-by-jim-o-neill-2019-04. In pickup folder.

Joseph Stiglitz. “Beyond GDP.” Project Syndicate (December 3, 2018). https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/new-metrics-of-wellbeing-not-just-gdp-by-joseph-e-stiglitz-2018-12. In pickup folder.

Nancy Folbre. “Valuing Domestic Product.” New York Times (May 28, 2012). http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/28/valuing-domestic-product/?_r=0. You can also see this video on the effects of the care industry: https://www.ineteconomics.org/ideas-papers/interviews-talks/the-economics-of-care.

Diane Coyle. “Digitally disrupted GDP.” VoxEU (February 8, 2016). http://voxeu.org/article/digitally-disrupted-gdp.

Charles Bean. “Time to rethink the way we measure economic activity.” VoxEU (March 31, 2016). http://voxeu.org/article/rethinking-measurement-economic-activity.

Borağan Aruoba, Francis Diebold, Jeremy Nalewaik, Frank Schorfheide, and Dongho Song. “A penny spent is a penny earned (by someone else): Measuring GDP.” VoxEU (December 3, 2013). http://voxeu.org/article/new-measure-us-gdp.

David Weil, Vernon Henderson, Adam Storeygard. “Measuring economic growth from outer space.” VoxEU (September 2, 2009). http://voxeu.org/article/measuring-economic-growth-outer-space.

Nicholas Oulton. “Hooray for GDP! GDP as a measure of wellbeing.” VoxEU (December 22, 2012). http://voxeu.org/article/defence-gdp-measure-wellbeing.

Carol Graham. “Happiness economics: Can we have an economy of wellbeing?” VoxEU (July 31, 2011). http://voxeu.org/article/happiness-economics-can-we-have-economy-wellbeing.

Alejandro Reuss. “Same Output + Fewer Hours = Economic Crisis?” Dollars and Sense (September 10, 2010). http://dollarsandsense.org/archives/2010/0910reuss.html.

Philepp Lepenies. “Why GDP?” Project Syndicate (August 16, 2016). https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/why-gdp-by-philipp-lepenies-2016-08. Pdf in pickup folder (go to site for video).

“The Trouble with GDP.” The Economist (August 30, 2016). http://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21697845-gross-domestic-product-gdp-increasingly-poor-measure-prosperity-it-not-even.

John Gertner. “The Rise and Fall of G.D.P.” The New York Times Magazine (May 13, 2010). http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/16/magazine/16GDP-t.html.

John Talbeth. “Measuring What Matters: GDP, Ecosystems and the Environment.” World Resources Institute (April 14, 2010). http://www.wri.org/blog/2010/04/measuring-what-matters-gdp-ecosystems-and-environment.

Justin Fox. “The Economics of Well-being.” Harvard Business Review (January-February 2012). https://hbr.org/2012/01/the-economics-of-well-being.

Angus Deaton. “The Great Escape: Health, wealth and the origins of inequality.” VoxEU (interview October 17, 2013). http://voxeu.org/vox-talks/great-escape-health-wealth-and-origins-inequality

Martin Kirk. “What if economic growth is not as positive as you think?” Fast Company (July 16, 2018). https://www.fastcompany.com/90202203/what-if-economic-growth-isnt-as-positive-as-you-think.