Micro

RESEARCH PROJECTS (Microeconomics) Spring 2020 Assignment: Choose one topic from the two topics below for your project. Research your topic and prepare a 5 to 6 page (double spaced, 1” margins) paper for submission (at least 4 sources needed). Your work cited page is not included in the 5 - 6 pages referred to above. The research paper will be worth 60 points. Your paper must be submitted to me in class on April 21. A late submission of this paper will result in an automatic loss of 15 points. Research papers will not be accepted more than one week after the due date. Please do not email your paper to me. Whichever topic you choose, you should display good knowledge and understanding of the relevant microeconomic concepts we dealt with this semester.

1. Market Conditions Select a company or industry with which you are familiar or for which you can get information. Prepare a paper analyzing the current market conditions of the company/industry you have selected. In your first paragraph give a brief history of the company or industry chosen. For the remainder of the paper analyze the market conditions for the company/industry. Your work must address the following:

Supply and demand analysis for the company products Pricing of products and services Price elasticity of demand for the products or services Introduction of substitute products and how this affects the company or industry Market structure of the company or of companies in the industry. Impact of new companies entering the market Competitors in the industry, and their pricing structures Impact of government regulations on the company/industry Any other microeconomic analysis you may think important to the company you have chosen.

2. Market Structures Prepare a paper comparing and contrasting any two of the following market structures - Perfect competition, Monopoly, Monopolistic competition, Oligopoly. Discuss the essential features of the two market structures chosen. State clearly at the top of your paper which two market structures you will be dealing with and throughout your paper make it clear what characteristics relate to which market structure. Make sure to address the following for each:

Typical goods or services produced under the market structures Pricing and non-pricing strategies that are employed in each market structure and why. Types of barriers to entry in each structure Price elasticity of demand under each market structure Economic profits made by firms in the market structure Advantages and limitations of operating in each market structure Give at least three examples of firms/industries that fall under the market structure Explain why these examples fit into the market structure.

For Oligopoly and Monopoly, also discuss Government’s anti-trust laws and show how these laws affect the market structure. Discuss at least one recent anti-trust case and the outcomes of this case.