March 2007 Archives

As you have noticed, I'm not around today. Thankfully, I left you in capable hands. Be good. Don't forget that your "take-home" exams are due to me by Sunday.

All we've got on the agenda for today is setting up and preparing for the "Taking Sides" debates that we'll be having after break. My plan is to give you today and the Monday we come back to work on these.

Here's the scoop:

I picked eight chapters from the book, "Taking Sides on Controversial Economic Issues." You can choose to work in groups of 2 or 3. (I am assuming most of you will do threes, otherwise we might run out of topics.)

Once you have settled on groups, you'll need to figure who is getting what topics. Certainly, various economists would recommend different ways to allocate these scarce resources: auction, command and control, random draw, the free market, etc. We'll see what Ms. Murr decides...

#1 - Are profits the only business of business?
#2 - Should cities subsidize sports and sports venues?
#5 - Should markets be allowed to solve the shortage in body parts?
#10 - Should a program of universal service be created?
#13 - Are protectionist policies bad for America?
#14 - Should we sweat about sweatshops?
#15 - Are the costs of global warming too high to ignore?
#17 - Has the North American Free Trade Agreement hurt the American economy?

Each packet contains background material, a "yes" article and a "no" article.

Here's what you'll be expected to have for these:

* We'll do three of these Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday after break. We'll figure out who goes when that first Monday. Everyone MIGHT need to be ready for Tuesday.

* Figure that each of these will go 20 minutes or so. That doesn't mean you need to talk all that time. (In a group of 3, I'd expect a background information speaker, a "yes" speaker, and a "no" speaker to get things started. In a group of 2, you can cover the "background" however.) We'll open these up to the "big group" for participation as well. I figure those "opening speeches" might be 4-5 minutes per side. (They don't need to be actually written out in "speech" form...)

* Think of the article you get today as a starting point. I expect EACH side to draw information from at least one additional source. There's a wealth of information on most of these topics.

* You can draw up a couple discussion questions or link the topic to current issues. (For example, the group on doing the public funding for sports might be able to think of a relevant situation going on locally...)

Once you've got an idea of what you're supposed to do and have your group and article set, the rest of the hour is yours to prepare and/or research. Enjoy your breaks...

This is pretty simple. We'll eat bagels and talk about the chapters from "New Ideas From Dead Economists" that each of you read for today.

That's it.

Not much to say here. You've all got a book. You'll spend some time talking about some aspect of it. Teach us. Dazzle us. Provoke us. Tell us why we shouldn't read that book. Whatever works.

These are worth 5 points. Basically, if it's clear you took a look at the book and thought about what to share, you'll get them. (Oh yeah, be a good audience member as well. Ask a question. Participate.)

REMEMBER:
Blog #10 should be done by Friday.
I should get your "take-homes" by Friday afternoon. (Emailed through the first Sunday is also fine.)
You can do the "Bonus/ Make-Up" Blog Entry over break or even the week we get back...

Those of you that have “0” recorded for any blog entry may substitute an entry on one of these questions for that missing score. You can receive a maximum of 4 points for these entries. You can do as many as you need from this list.

Extra credit: Everyone can submit one “bonus” blog entry for extra credit. You can receive a maximum of five points for that entry.

All entries must be posted by Thursday, March 29th in order to receive credit.

From Chapter 12 – “Development Economics”

1. It’s a pretty good question on page 207. “At a time when we can split the atom, land on the moon, and decode the human genome, why do 2.8 billion people, or roughly half the world’s population, live on less than $2 a day.” What do you think?

2. From page 208 onward, Wheelan (in bold type) lists a “sample of the kinds of policies” that “make the difference between the wealth and poverty of nations.” Choose the one factor that you find most significant and explain your rationale for that choice.

3. There are a ton of interesting statistics and examples in this chapter. Select the three you found most interesting and/or surprising and explain why you chose them.

4. Wheelan likens the World Bank and International Monetary Fund to the world’s “welfare agency” and “fire department,” respectively. Based on what you’ve learned, are those characterizations accurate? How well do you feel that they do “their jobs?”

From "Epilogue: Life in 2050"

One question here, with seven variations… You’ve got your own crystal ball. Take any one of the “seven questions worth pondering about life in 2050” and give me your prediction/forecast for what the reality will be when you all are contemplating retirement (or traveling the nation in your RV) in 2050.

OK, you can take a breath... We're really done with new economic concepts and "lessons" in the sense we have been doing them.

There are three things we'll be doing with our remaining time.

"Book Talks" - OK, I don't have any kind of clever name for this. Here's the scoop. I buy books. Too many books. I've got a lot more economics books than I can incorporate directly into the class. Some of them are boring, but a number of them are really quite interesting. I've hopefully brought a bunch of them to class. You'll "check one out," either alone or with a partner. Your job is to be find some interesting things in the book you select. It might be a specific "problem" or chart or anecdote. Perhaps you base a short discussion on something you read, etc. Be creative.

WHAT YOU'LL DO: You do get credit for this. (Up to 10 points possible) We'll start these on Wednesday. You have a minimum of five minutes (maximum of ten) to share/ teach/ discuss whatever it is from the book and/or its subject matter that is of interest to you. We'll take volunteers first, but everyone needs to be ready for tomorrow.

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"New Ideas from Dead Economists" - Each pair of you will receive one chapter from this book that is frequently used in introductory college economics courses. On Thursday, we'll have our "Dead Economists' Breakfast."

WHAT YOU'LL DO: You do get credit for this. (Up to 10 points.) Your job is to share some of what you found interesting/relevant/bizarre from your assigned chapter. We'll walk through the "history" of economics from Adam Smith to the present. If you're not careful, you might learn something.

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"Taking Sides" debates - We'll set this up on Friday. They'll take place after break.

We'll spend some time reviewing and then take the exam. That's it.

REMINDERS: That last blog due date will get pushed back since we missed those days. As long as #9 and #10 are in by Friday, I'll count them as on time. The "make-up/ bonus" blog entry option will be posted tomorrow, and you can submit those through that week after break.

The "take-home" options have also been posted previously. These questions (actually ANSWERS to these questions) should be turned in by Friday, March 9th. (I will not consider them late however, if they are in my email before the end of the day on Sunday, March 11th.) They WILL be late if I don't get them before that.

Exam #2 - Micro and International Economics These questions (actually ANSWERS to these questions) should be turned in by Friday, March 9th. (I will not consider them late however, if they are in my email before the end of the day on Sunday, March 11th.) They WILL be late if I don't get them before that.

Short answer: (20 points - 5 points each)
You need to do four of the following "short answer" questions. Choose any four that you would like from the list. Answers should be between 300 - 500 words or so. You can either print them out or submit them electronically to me as an e-mail attachement.

A. Through some sort of miracle, that little dude with the monocle from the Monopoly game comes to life and wants to talk to you. He doesn't understand why monopolies have long been regulated and/or broken up in the United States. Explain to him some of the reasons why. (Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200.)

B. You and one of your Economics classmates have recently been elected the leaders of two of the world countries. Using specific examples (names, products, and countries), demonstrate your understanding of the terms "absolute advantage" and "comparative advantage".

C. Assume that you are teaching a class of second graders some basic economic principles. You need to explain why the nations of the world benefit from trade. Keeping in mind that the authors of The Armchair Economist will sue plagiarists, develop an analogy or story that gets this point across. (By the way, The Armchair Economist was the source of the "Iowa Car Crop" story...)

D. You are the new headline writer for the StarTribune. Tomorrow's issue is a special edition devoted to globalization. You are in charge of writing five "headlines" for the pro-globalization forces and their best arguments and five "headlines" for the anti-globalization forces and their best arguments. What would those headlines be?

E. The rest of the world has gotten tired of arguing about globalization. They have left you to cast the deciding vote. Is gloablization helpful or harmful? Why?

F. You have been named the President of the World Bank. You unexpectedly have an additional $10 billion in funds to loan out for the purposes of development assistance. In broad terms, tell us what you would do with that money. Where/how would you spend it?

G. Any other bright ideas for questions that you would like to tackle? If so, let me know...

If weather permits, the exam will be tomorrow. Same format as last time. If we get snowed out, we'll plan on doing it Monday.

Don't forget to finish up the blog entries, etc. We'll do a couple activities next week that you'll probably find reasonably enjoyable and tolerable as we approach break.

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We'll do a little more with discussion and debate on globalization today.

We'll take some time to tackle any questions regarding the exam material, and then it is time for us to pay tribute to Saturday's "5 x 10" performances scheduled for the Black Box.

Globalization 10 x 5's
We'll spend up to 5 minutes on each of the ten topics/statements below. I'll ask for comments "in character" first, but you are also welcome to speak "as yourself" as we get further into the topic.

* The United States benefits disproportionally from globalization.

* Globalization is a tool by which the West spread its values and ideas around the world.

* Globalization threatens national sovereignty.

* The world can continue to develop economically while remaining environmentally sustainable.

* On balance, globalization is a negative for the majority of the world's population.

* There's nothing wrong with large inequalities in wealth around the world as long as conditions are improving for all.

* On balance, globalization has been a benefit to the interests of workers.

* Those who oppose free trade are inadvertently working to keep poor people poor.

* Globalization has made large-scale terrorism more likely.

* The process of globalization has decreased the risks to human health.