Ej Assessment 2: Writing assignment
Choose an economic principle, or principles from the subject and using your own observations explain some pattern of events or behaviour. The assignment does not need to contain complex terminology, algebra or graphs. The best assignments are ones that would be clearly intelligible to someone who has never studied economics. Further you do not need to provide voluminous research in support of your argument, although a relevant fact or two can help in convincing others. It makes no difference whether your topic is “important”, but do try to choose something interesting. A successful paper is one that begins with a really interesting question and then uses an economic principle or principles to construct a plausible solution.
The aims of the assignment is to encourage students to:
1. Apply economic concepts and principles to research and analyse economic data and phenomena in the real world (SILO 2). 2. Explain fundamental economic concepts using text, diagrams and equations (SILO 3) 3. Utilise and critique a range of economic tools and approaches to draw conclusions and make recommendations. (SILO 4). Some economics principles to consider:
• Incentives matter because they affect the benefits and costs of taking one action as opposed to another. • The principle of comparative advantage: Everybody does best when each concentrates on the activity for which he or she is relatively more productive. • Trade-offs: in economics we often look at the trade-offs involved in a decision. • Opportunity cost each decision we make involves an opportunity cost, that is, the next best alternative. • The cost-benefit principle: Take no action unless its marginal benefit is at least as great as its marginal cost
Assignment criteria As a minimum the assignment should: • be no more than 1,000 words • include an introduction and conclusion • Where appropriate include accurate references