ECON30579 CONTENDING PERSPECTIVES IN ECONOMY
Exam #1 Essays: 50 points Due Date: Thursday, February 22nd at 11:00 a.m. Submission Instructions: This should be submitted two different ways. (Do not submit the instructions, just submit your responses) First, you must submit a hard copy of your answers at the start of the exam period. I will not accept handwritten work for this assignment. This is what I will grade and where you will receive my feedback. If you do not have a typed copy, you will be required to resubmit your responses in the proper format, and it will count as being submitted late. Second, you must submit your answers to the TCU Online assignment folder labeled as “Exam #1 Essay Responses” so that your answers can be run through a plagiarism checker. Make sure you submit it as a Word document or as a PDF only. This should be uploaded before the start of the exam. Assignment Instructions: In this portion of Midterm Exam 1, you must provide indepth explanations about how the ideas we’ve learned in class can be applied to help us understand novel, real-world situations. Assume your audience is not an economist. Be sure to use the correct economics terminology, and fully define and explain all economic concepts being discussed in your answer. Provide examples when asked. A few sentences are not sufficient to get full credit for these questions. If your answer has less than one well-developed paragraph for each section of the question, there is a good chance you did not answer the question with enough detail or explanation. A question with parts a, b, and c should have no less than three welldeveloped paragraphs. A well-developed paragraph should have 4-6 sentences in it. You have a week to work on this, and I expect your answers to reflect this. For each question, you MUST cite at least one of the assigned readings or videos to support your argument. You will lose points for not referencing the assigned materials to support your answers. You must provide a citation with both author and page number so that I know where you got your information (especially if you use direct quotations). You may use outside resources to supplement your answers if you cite them as well. Type your answers into this document, immediately below the question you are answering. Put your answers in bold. These assignments will be run through a plagiarism checker. You should not collaborate with any of your peers (or with AI) on this assignment. Submissions that have similar language will be flagged for review, as will any assignments flagged as AI. Do not cite the PowerPoint Slides, cite the assigned readings and the videos upon which the lectures are based. Do not cite Investopedia, Wikipedia, History.com, or other low-quality online resources. Student ID# ____________________ 1. Affordable housing has become a growing concern since the 2020 pandemic lockdowns made it clear that the demand for housing has grown much faster than the supply, pushing prices of homes higher in nearly all housing markets – raising rent prices as well. In response to higher rent prices, some cities have considered implementing widespread rent controls in an effort to keep the prices of existing housing lower. Supporters of these policies argue that it will help lower income individuals be able to afford housing. Critics of rent control argue that good intentions don’t always translate to good outcomes and that rent control will lead to housing deterioration, fewer repairs, less maintenance, a much small stock of available rental units, and increased discrimination in the rental process. a. Using ideas from the Physiocratic school of thought, explain whether or not a “top-down” policy change, like rent control, is likely to achieve its intended goal. b. Using ideas from Adam Smith’s Theory of Moral Sentiments and The Wealth of Nations, explain whether or not a “top-down” policy change, like rent control, is likely to achieve its intended goal. 2. In his State of the Union address on February 7, 2023, Biden announced a more extensive “Buy American” policy, requiring “all construction materials used in federal infrastructure projects to be made in America” with “American-made lumber, glass, drywall, fiber optic cables.” Additionally, former President Trump’s current election campaign pledges to enact a general tariff of 10 percent on all goods imported into the United States. a. Use ideas from one of the three schools of thought we discussed so far to explain the economic appeal of these types of policies. b. Use the ideas from one of the three schools of thought we discussed so far to explain the economic arguments against these kinds of policies. c. Use an idea from Module 1 to explain why these policies are likely to remain politically popular even if economists were to universally agree that they are harmful to the economy. 3. Occupational licensure is the process by which governments establish qualifications required to practice a trade or profession, so that only licensed practitioners are allowed by law to receive pay for doing work in that licensed occupation – restricting the supply of labor in licensed professions. This type of labor market regulation has grown substantially in the US over time. Following the end of World War II, occupational licensing in the US covered about 4.5% of the workforce, but by 2015 it had climbed to 25% according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Student ID# ____________________ a. According to the ideas presented by the Classical economists, explain what effect the growth in these policies ought to have on overall economic prosperity and why. That is, what impact would they suggest it would have on production (GDP), per capita income (living standards), consumer prices, and employment. Use appropriate ideas from a minimum of two Classical economists to justify your answer. Would Classical economists encourage keeping these policies in place? b. According to the ideas presented by the Mercantilists, explain what effect these policies ought to have on overall economic prosperity and why. Use at least one appropriate idea from the Mercantilists to justify your answer. Would Mercantilists encourage keeping these policies in place? 4. Naomi Oreskes, a Harvard historian and prominent climate researcher, published an op-ed in Scientific American this month titled “Eight Billion People in the World Is a Crisis, Not an Achievement.” Many climate activists say the worst thing an individual can do, from an environmental perspective, is have kids. a. Defend this position using ideas from one of the economists we have discussed in Modules 1 – 4. b. Refute this idea using ideas from two different economists we have discussed in Modules 1 – 4. 5. There is an ongoing debate on college campuses in the U.S. regarding free speech. In recent years, there has been a growing number student-led protests aimed at disrupting campus events involving controversial guest speakers, often causing those events to be canceled. Protestors defend their actions by saying these controversial guests will be discussing ideas that are offensive and that their speech is a form of violence. Others condemn their actions by saying that college campuses exists so that people can engage critically with ideas of all kinds, even offensive ones, and that the protests amount to censorship. Those in support of the protestors argue that students are exercising their first amendment right to free speech and that the protests are a form of “counterspeech.” Those condemning these protests argue that freedom of speech does not entitle protestors to limit the ability of others to exercise their free speech. a. Use the ideas discussed in Module 1 to explain whether you think these protests are conducive to the pursuit of truth and why you hold that position. b. Use ideas from one Classical Economist discussed in Module 4 to argue either for, or against these types of protests.
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