Commentary about a microeconomic article with theory applied.

Microeconomics, individual assignmentPRIVATE

2 IB, Fall semester 2018

Write a commentary of 750–850 words, based on a published “ microeconomic ” article from the news media.

You can select your own article ONLY from recent (later than August 1, 2018) issues of the following magazines/ newspapers: The Economist, Newsweek, Business Week, Time, the International Herald Tribune, Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic Monthly. Other sources must be approved by your lecturer first.

The commentary must:

• explain the linkages between the article and an economic theory taken from (part of) chapter 3 to 11 of Sloman (9th editon).

• demonstrate economic insights into the implications of the article (that is, it should provide evidence of your ability to evaluate current events from the point of view of an economist).

Article

Article may be any length, but you should highlight or underline the specific areas of the extract that you have selected for discussion. Do not use news editorials, blogs or columns as an article. The suggested length of the article is 2 pages.

Record Keeping

The commentary must contain a commentary cover sheet and a copy of the article.

The cover sheet should contain:

• the title of the article • the source of the article

• the date of the article •the word count of the commentary

• the section(s) of Sloman to which the commentary relates.

A cover sheet template can be found on Blackboard.

Grading

The assignment will be graded as a whole against the assessment criteria, which can be found on Blackboard.

N.B

· A copy of the article must be placed between the cover sheet and the commentary.

· It is very important that your commentary shows your own line of (economic) reasoning.

· Do not simply summarize the article or Sloman.

· Good, proper and understandable English is a must!!!

· Read the assessment criteria!

· If the commentary is outside of the word limit requirement then marks will be lost. Everything except the coversheet and the list of literature used (according to the MLA referencing system, taught in BEC) is included in the word count.

Due date: Monday November 19th , 2018!! (10:00 a.m.); ( you hand in your assignment in the appropriate EUPHORUS drop-box of your lecturer in the MicroECO blackboard part. Also: you must give a hard copy of the assignment to your lecturer.

Guidance on the content of your commentaries

It is important that you show how relevant concepts/the​o​ries relate to your article. In order to do this you will need to explain these concepts /the​o​ries by giving your Defi​ni​tions, Expla​nations, Exam​ples and Diagrams (=Graphs) from the theory (DEED). Make sure to link these to your article and all in your own words! Finally, you will need to evaluate the theories and concepts used. In order to do this you may want to consider one or more of the following options:

Short-term versus Long-term

· Is the change good in the short-term, but in a few years it will have unde​sir​able consequences?

· Will the pol​icy be really hard on peo​ple in the short-run, but does it fix the long-term problem?

· Will this pol​icy fix one prob​lem, but cre​ate another?

Assump​tions

· Are there some assump​tions being made, that the the​ory depends on that may not hold true? Explain what might change and how that would affect your analysis.

· Tell us the weak​nesses in the theory?

· What is unre​al​is​tic about the theory?

Stake​hold​ers

· What effects would this pol​icy (i.e. an indi​rect tax) have on the gov​ern​ment, con​sumers, pro​duc​ers and the rest of society?

· Poli​cies (i.e. price ceil​ings) are often made with par​tic​u​lar stake​hold​ers in mind, so are there unde​sir​able effects on other par​ties (i.e. price increases for consumers)?

· Is the pol​icy great for some groups, but bad for others?

Pri​or​i​ties

· Dis​cussing the pri​or​i​ties of a soci​ety, or the gov​ern​ment is also a good way to keep things in per​spec​tive. A pol​icy like sub​si​diz​ing schools is good for fam​i​lies, good for the long-term macro econ​omy, but bad for tax pay​ers who don’t have chil​dren, what are the pri​or​i​ties as a society?

· Is there an impor​tant nor​ma​tive (i.e. val​ues aspect) that the the​ory doesn’t consider?

Pros and Cons

· What are the advan​tages and dis​ad​van​tages of this policy?

· What are the costs and the ben​e​fits of this policy?

· What are the argu​ments for and the argu​ments against this policy?

· This one is to double-check that you haven’t left any​thing out in the pre​ced​ing ones.

Checklist for Students

The following checklist can be used to complete each commentary before handing it in.

1. Have you added and completed a commentary coversheet?

2. Have you included the (micro economical) article?

3. Have you highlighted the relevant parts of the article?

4. Does the article come from an approved source and has it been published no earlier than August 1, 2018?

5. If you have used sources or references other than the article, have you cited them correctly?

6. Is the commentary within the word limit (750–850 words)?

7. Have you included graphs from the theory (Sloman)?

8. Have you linked these graphs to your article?

9. Have you labeled your graphs accurately?

10. Have you provided correct definitions of at least three to four relevant economic terms within your commentary?

11. Have you identified and applied relevant micro economical concepts/theories?

12. Have you analyzed how these concepts/theories relate to the chosen article?

13. Have you evaluated these concepts/theories in the context of real world examples?

14. Have you put your assignment in a suitable folder (not individual plastic wallets)?

15. Have you added a signed copy of the Academic Integrity Disclaimer?