Economics Final Writing Project
Econ 100, Economics: General Topics
THE ASSIGNMENT:
Congratulations! Based on your excellent education and your expertise in economics, you have been hired by the U.S. Government to help with some of their policy issues. Your first task is to decide which branch of policy you would like to work in. You can work in the executive branch and answer questions about unemployment or the treatment of monopolies. You could instead choose to work in the Federal Reserve and answer questions about prices and inflation. The area that you choose will help to determine the types of questions that you will be asked to answer. The three areas are listed below along with their respective questions. You will need to choose one area and then write a brief that addresses the relevant questions. Your paper will then be used by the administration to address the shortcomings of current policy and to design the fundamentals of nationwide policy moving forward. You should keep in mind that you are not writing for economists, but for highly educated people in other fields of knowledge so make sure that you explain any economic language that you use.
You understand that a solid paper will include a combination of economic theory that you may have learned in Econ 100, and data from reliable outside sources. You’ve also decided that you might want to include and reference visual representations of data where appropriate (a pictures can be worth a thousand words). Simply put, you will want to choose the appropriate model, concept, and data to apply to the relevant questions while outlining the logic that your solution is based on.
THE DETAILS:
This final writing project is due in class on 05/20/15. There will be no exceptions to this due date. You must submit a professional looking final draft for grading. Any graphs or tables that you include will need to be contained on a separate sheet at the end of the paper. You will also need to site where you found that graphic or data. All of your outside sources should be cited on a separate sheet as well. You can use either MLA or APA format to cite your sources. Refer to the OWL at Purdue for questions about how to cite different types of sources.
The paper will be double spaced and written in Times New Roman, size 12 font. You need to make sure that you proofread the paper for both grammar and punctuation before you submit it. Your grade will be determined by both the content and the readability of your final product.
THE GRADE:
Your grade will be determined using the following scale and descriptions:
Level 01 (120 points) = answers question competently and communicates economic principles in a logical and compelling way with a good command of language.
Level 02 (100 points) = answers question adequately and communicates economic principles satisfactorily, with only slight errors in language usage, but not enough to detract from meaning.
Level 03 (80 points) = attempts to answer the question but either language, content, or logic errors interfere significantly with meaning
Level 04 (60 points) = response is off topic, does not use economic concepts, or is severely lacking in a way that demonstrates skills far below grade level (college freshman or sophomore)
Topic: Unemployment
1. Your introductory paragraph should include your policy recommendation and a brief summary of your reasoning for this recommendation.
2. Set the stage by discussing the current state of the U.S. unemployment numbers and existing unemployment policy. You should reference the Bureau of Labor Statistics website to get some basic unemployment data. https://www.bls.gov/bls/unemployment.htm
3. The first big policy question that the administration needs to address is whether unemployment benefits should exist at all. What are some economic benefits and/or costs to providing unemployment benefits to workers that are out of work?
4. The second big policy question is how long these benefits should last. Does it seem economically beneficial to extend these benefits to workers for more than 12 months? Are there any alternative programs or approaches to these long term unemployed that might be a better use of federal funds?
5. Your final paragraph should restate your policy recommendation and it’s defense. What should we do moving forward?
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