01 Feb “Reflect on What You

Question
Week 1 discussion

“Scarcity Problems”

Watch this short video: Scarcity: The Basic Economic Problem to help you think about this week’s discussion.

Start your discussion by creating a response to these questions:

What is a scarcity problem you’ve experienced in your work or home life?

What system could you use to manage your scarcity problem?

Continue the conversation with your peers:

Read one of your peer’s scarcity problems and provide an additional idea for a system to help solve their problem.

Week 2 discussion

“The Market and Your Decision to Go to College”

The market for higher education is determining the key questions of what gets produced, how it is produced, how much is produced, and who gets how much.

Start your discussion by creating a response to these questions:

Why do you think that more and more students are going to college when, in fact, the price of a college education is increasing? (Be sure to use the models of supply and demand to explain your answer.)

In what ways have changes in the job market influenced your assessment of the value of an education? (Do you have more choices or options?)

Talk with your peers:

Reply to a classmate — was their reasoning similar to yours?

Week 3 discussion

“Looking Closely at Cost and Competition”

Watch this video, Revenue, Profits, and Price: Crash Course Economics #24, to help you prepare for this week’s discussion.

Use the company for which you currently work, a business with which you’re familiar, or the dream business you want to start to reply to these prompts:

Do you think it’s easy for your selected business to enter this same industry?

What are some key fixed, variable, implicit, and/or opportunity costs?

Discuss with your peers:

Read one of your peer’s posts and share another idea for a type of cost.

Week 4 discussion

“Exploring Monopolies and Oligopolies”

Watch this video, Oligopolies and Monopolistic Competition, to help you prepare for this week’s discussion.

Use the company for which you currently work, a business with which your familiar, or a dream business you want to start to reply to these prompts:

With your selected business in mind, determine if it is competitive, monopolistic competitive, an oligopoly, or pure monopoly. Explain how you drew your conclusion about its market structure.

How does the business/firm in this industry determine the price it will charge for the products or services it sells?

Discuss with your peers:

Read one of your peer’s posts and share an insight or question you have about that business and its market structure.

Week 5 discussion

“Considering Tradeoffs You Make Every Day”

Let’s talk about two tradeoffs we face every day: how we spend our time and money.

We can only do two things with income: spend it or save it. Time is the ultimate resource. We can choose to spend time working to earn an income or we can do other things, broadly classified as leisure. Reply to these prompts to start your discussion:

How does a change in interest rate affect your decision to spend or save? How would a change in the interest rate affect a firm’s decision to invest or save?

How might an increase in the wage rate affect what you do with your time?

Now describe a tradeoff you’ve made in terms of time or income.

Talk about tradeoffs with your peers:

Reply to one peer who made a tradeoff to which you can relate. Discuss and compare your decisions.

Week 6 discussion

“Is the GDP Still Accurate in the Digital Age?”

What the GDP measures, if anything, has become quite the issue in the digital age. Consider this data:

In 2012, U.S. Real GDP was $15,345.63 billion and Real Per Capita GDP was $48,842 billion.

Five years later, at the end of 2017, U.S. Real GDP was $17,096.18 billion and Real Per Capita GDP was $52,446 billion. (All data was extracted May 20, 2018, from FRED https://fred.stlouisfed.org/.)

Read this blog, GDP: Falling Short, to help you answer this week’s discussion questions.

Reply to these questions in your response:

Considering the data above, did the U.S. make progress? Explain your answer.

Given what you know now about economics, should the measure of GDP be changed? Why or why not?

Talk with a peer:

Review a peer’s post and let him/her know if you agree or disagree with their reasoning about U.S. progress or the measure of GDP

Week 7 discussion

“Using the Rate of Inflation to Make a Decision”

In Chapter 4 of The Little Book of Economics, Ip talks about the natural rate of unemployment as the rate of unemployment that will not lead to an acceleration in inflation. Keep this reading in mind as you respond to this week’s discussion questions.

Think about this: If the current unemployment rate is 3.9%, would one expect the rate of inflation to increase or decrease? Explain your answer.

Now you face a wonderful decision. Imagine that you just won a lottery jackpot of $100,000. If you expect inflation to accelerate, should you buy that home you’ve been thinking of now? What would you decide if the rate of inflation is negative?

Reply to a peer and share your opinion about their decision.

Week 8 discussion

“Globalization in Your Life”

Tariffs on steel and aluminum are proposed to be set at 25% for steel and 10% for aluminum.

Watch the video Tariffs and Protectionism to prepare for this week’s discussion.

Reply to these questions in your post:

Who do you think will ultimately pay these tariffs? Explain your answer.

Describe a good or service you use that has been impacted by trade or globalization. What are some advantages and/or disadvantages you have experienced?

Discuss globalization with your peers:

Reply to a peer and discuss their experience with trade or globalization. Was your peer’s experience like yours? Did you learn something new from reading your peer’s reply?

Week 9 discussion

“Exploring Tax Cuts, Jobs, and CBO in the News”

The news today is all about this question:

Will the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act reduce deficits and what will happen to the U.S. debt?

Watch this video: U.S. Deficit to Surpass $1 Trillion Two Years Ahead of Estimates, CBO Says

The video cites the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

Discuss these questions in your post:

Visit the CBO website and confirm that the reporting is accurate. Was the reporting accurate? Why or why not?

Do you think the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will reduce our deficits? Explain your answer.

Discuss with your peers:

Reply to a peer’s response. Did they share the same reasoning about the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act as you did?

Week 10 discussion

“Exploring the Role of the Federal Reserve Bank”

What is the FED’s job and how does the FED manage the money supply? How do banks create money? Let’s explore these questions as we talk about the role of the Federal Reserve Bank, also known as the FED.

Reply to these questions in your post:

If the FED decides to continue the process of raising interest rates, what is the likely response of firms and households to the increased cost of borrowing?

Thinking back to the discussion on the deficit and the debt, how might an increase in the interest rate affect a decision by the government to allow continued large deficits?

Discuss with a peer:

Reply to a peer and discuss if their reasoning about borrowing or allowing large deficits is similar to yours.

Week 11 discussion

“Reflect on What You Learned About Economics”

Identify your top three takeaways from the course and how you’ll leverage them to make good decisions.

You can consider these questions as you reflect on your learning in this course:

What did you learn that will help you make better decisions?

What will you do differently at work or in your personal life as a result of being able to apply economic principles to your decision making?

What advice would you give to someone who is just starting to learn about the principles of economics?