Microeconomics assignment

Econ 202 Dr. Rebecca Acosta

News Article Analysis 50 points Due: end of Week 5

1. Pick a recent (within past two months) news article from a major newspaper that contains content

that you can analyze using the microeconomic concepts and tools you've learned in class.

Note: It will be best for you to pick an article that doesn't already contain analysis Every term, I get

papers based on analysis-heavy news articles. The students tend to just quote analysis from the

article (or closely paraphrase) with no original thinking done by the student. Those papers tend not

to get a lot of points. I want you to do your own analysis! You will get credit for YOUR analysis.

2. In the first short paragraph you might outline the main points from the article that you are planning to

analyze. You should identify the key microeconomic (not macro) issue(s) discussed in the article. If

the article addresses more than one issue, choose one to focus on for this assignment. State the issue

or question you plan to analyze.

3. Using the tools (including graphs) and terminology learned in this microeconomics course to

explain the economics “behind” the article. Most news articles rarely, if ever, mention the terms or

models we discuss in class even though economics is often very relevant to the article’s subject

matter. The article simply describes something that is happening in the world. This is your

opportunity to “think like an economist” to show how economic analysis can inform our

understanding of the issue discussed in the article. If you can identify and discuss even one or two

economic elements in a news story, then you may understand far more about the issue than most

other readers, who only read the words as they are written on the page.

4. The body of your analysis should contain...MICROECONOMIC ANALYSIS. Analyze the issue you

identified using one or more of the models you learned about in this course. It should be your OWN

analysis, not that of the article writer or other source. There should be models of supply and demand

for markets, or PPF curves, or firm supply and demand or cost curves, or indifference curves, or any

of the other models from THIS course. If there are no models like that, there is a good chance you

are not following these directions carefully. Microeconomics focuses on decisions of individuals,

firms, and shows how those are aggregated to markets. This class does not cover economy-wide

topics (that's typically macroeconomic domain). Make sure you are analyzing a microeconomic

issue.

5. Incorporate specific information from the article in your paper, but be careful to avoid simply

summarizing the article. I am particularly interested in seeing that you can apply the tools of the

course to what you read in the news, so analysis of the article you choose is crucial

6. The length of the analysis should be between about 300-600 words (roughly 2-3 pages)--diagrams

and graphs do not count, though should be used to help illustrate your analysis, where appropriate.

The analysis should be typewritten, double-spaced with standard fonts and margins, although you

can neatly hand draw any graphs that you might need for your analysis. You must submit a copy of

your news article along with your analysis.

6. Carefully proofread for spelling and grammatical errors. Consider the audience to be your

classmates. Your paragraphs should be well-written. Make your paper hang together well as a free-

standing piece of writing. A reader should be able to read and understand your analysis without

referring back to the article itself.

7. Your points for the assignment will be determined by both the quality of the analysis and the

effectiveness with which you communicate your ideas. Please read the rubric for this assignment to

see all the aspects you will be graded on and how points will be distributed.

This assignment should be fun for you. It is an opportunity for you to use the material you have learned

thus far in the course to discuss and evaluate important microeconomic issues and policies affecting our

lives. This is an ideal opportunity to demonstrate to me in writing your ability to use the skills you are

learning.