XECO 212 Complete Course

Week 1

CheckPoint: A New House Readiness

Deciding to buy a house is a lifelong goal for many people. Imagine that you are renting a studio apartment and have just discovered you are having a baby. Your present apartment is small and far from schools and local services. You have decided to move. There are many factors that come into play when making such a large and weighty purchase. Examine the decision-making process from the perspective of an economist. In your Final Project, you use these principles and other factors to make a final decision whether to buy a house.

Consider the 10 Principles of Economics as outlined in Ch. 1 of the text.

Assume for this CheckPoint that purchasing a new home is a major decision requiring a substantial financial outlay where the wrong decision has long-term financial consequences.

Submit a 250- to 300-word response addressing the following points:

Which of the 10 principles do you think plays a major role in your decision?

Provide an example for each about decision-making, interaction, and the workings of the economy.

Explain how that influences the marginal benefits and marginal costs associated with the decision to purchase a house.

Week 2

CheckPoint: Price Elasticity and Supply and Demand Short Answer Quiz

Complete the Price Elasticity and Supply and Demand Short Answer Quiz in Appendix B.

Post your completed chart as an attachment.

Assignment: Supply and Demand Paper

Choose one good with which you have had experience purchasing:

New home

New car

Vacation to a theme park

Washing machine

Computer

College

Other

Write a 700- to 1,050-word paper explaining factors that affect supply and demand. Include the following:

Explain factors that could cause possible changes in supply and demand.

Determine at least two substitutes there may be for your product.

Determine at least two complements there may be for your product.

Explain how the necessity of your chosen good impacts price elasticity

Format your paper according to APA guidelines.

Post your assignment as an attachment.

Week 3

CheckPoint: Historical Example of Labor Supply and Demand

Submit a 250- to 300-word response addressing one of the following historical events in terms of labor supply and demand: the Great Depression, the Luddite Revolt, the Black Death, or the technology boom of the 1990s. Include the following:

What was the impact on the supply and demand of labor on one sector of the labor market?

Explain the factors that affected labor demand and labor supply in the chosen historical example.

Week 4

CheckPoint: Market Structures Table and Questions

Complete the Market Structures Table and Questions in Appendix C.

Post your completed table and questions as an attachment.

Assignment: Maximizing Profits in Market Structures Paper

Consider competitive markets, monopolies, and oligopolies. What role does each of these play in an economy?

Write a 1,050- to 1400-word paper on Market Structures and Maximizing Profits. Address the following:

What are the characteristics of each market structure?

How is price determined in each market structure in terms of maximizing profits?

How is output determined in each market structure in terms of maximizing profits?

What are the barriers to entry, if any?

What role does each market structure play in the economy?

Format your paper according to APA guidelines.

Post your assignment as an attachment.

Week 5

CheckPoint: A New House Risks and Benefits

The government and the fiscal policy it implements play a large role in the housing market. In this CheckPoint, you examine how government policy has consequences for you and the decision to buy a house. This helps you consider situations and alternative decisions in your final project.

Assume for this CheckPoint that purchasing a new home is a major decision requiring a substantial financial outlay where the wrong decision has long-term financial consequences.

Evaluate the health of the housing market for the next two years by researching forecasts for mortgage rates, housing starts, and housing prices. The following Web sites provide a starting place for your research:

Mortgage rates: http://www.realtor.org

Housing starts: http://www.nahb.org

Housing prices: http://www.mbaa.org

Submit a 250- to 300-word response addressing the following questions:

Which government bodies influence national fiscal policies that potentially affect the housing market?

What are some national fiscal policies that can affect mortgage rates, housing starts, and housing prices? Be sure to provide specific examples.

What is your recommendation as to the risks and benefits of purchasing a home based on these considerations?

Week 6

CheckPoint: Money

Submit a 250- to 300-word response addressing the following points:

Money acts as a unit of account, medium of exchange, or a store of value. Describe each of these different functions.

Provide an example of your use of money in each of these different functions.

Assignment: Money Train Multimedia Activity

Compete the Money Train Multimedia Activity.

Post your three responses as an attachment.

Week 7

CheckPoint: A New House Economy

The difficulties of the economy affect many of the decisions you make as a consumer. No more so than when you are buying a house. The health of the economy is a factor you must consider when buying a house. Sometimes the economy favors sellers and at other times it favors buyers. This CheckPoint helps you refine your decision to buy a house; it prepares you to explain in your final project how the strength of the economy, government spending, and taxes affect the marginal costs and benefits of your decision.

Consider the role of government bodies that affect the strength of the economy.

Assume for this CheckPoint that purchasing a new home is a major decision requiring a substantial financial outlay where the wrong decision has long-term financial consequences.

Submit a 250- to 300-word response addressing the following points:

Explain how the strength of the economy as a whole could affect the marginal benefits and the marginal costs associated with a decision to purchase a home.

How does the removal of the tax deduction on mortgage interest affect the housing market?

Week 8

CheckPoint: International Trade Debate

Post a 250- to 300-word response to the following debate topic: The United States must place high tariffs and use quotas to restrict trade with foreign countries.

Consider the following issues:

The strength of the dollar on domestic and global economies

Benefits from tariffs or quotas

Losses from tariffs or quotas

Assignment: International Trade Simulation

Complete the International Trade Simulation.

Write a 1,050- to 1,250-word report advising the President of Rodamia making recommendations for international trade. Address the following:

List at least one advantage and one limitation of international trade you encountered in the simulation.

Define absolute and comparative advantage in your own words.

Explain how absolute and comparative advantages were used in your simulation.

Describe the influences affecting foreign exchange rates.

Format your report according to APA guidelines.

Post your assignment as an attachment.

Week 9

Final Project: A New House Decision

Review the final project criteria in Appendix A.

Write a 1,750- to 2,450-word word paper in which you decide whether to purchase a house.

Discuss which principles of economics directly relate to your purchasing decision.

Compare the marginal benefits and the marginal costs associated with your purchasing decision.

Explain how the strength of the economy as a whole affected the marginal benefits and the marginal costs associated with that decision.

Consider the roles of the domestic economy and international trade in your assessment of the strength of the economy.

Determine what situations or conditions could have led you to make a different decision.

Assume for this project that purchasing a new home is a major decision requiring a substantial financial outlay where the wrong decision has long-term financial consequences.

Use three to five references in your paper.

Format your paper according to APA guidelines.

Post your paper as an attachment.

Week 1 DQs

Locate recent articles in the New York Times or Wall Street Journal in which economists are quoted using positive and normative statements. Provide one quote and its context for both a positive and normative statement. Explain your choice. Evaluate the statement choices of your fellow students.

Select a good that you are familiar with. What are the factors that shift the demand curve for this good? What are the factors that shift the supply curve for this good? How do you expect the supply and demand of your selected good to change in the next year? Relate your expectation to price and quantity.

Week 3 DQs

Why do some workers make more money than others? Must everyone make the same wage? Explain your answers using labor market equilibrium.

Imagine that you are a business owner. Choose whether to hire a new person in the marketing department or upgrade your computer system. Each choice requires the same amount of investment. Address the following topics: What factors do you use to determine whether to invest in the additional capital and labor?

Week 5 DQs

What is the relationship between GDP and the business cycle? How can you use information about the business cycle when making a decision about a large purchase?

What is inflation? How do interest rates affect inflation? What are the different types of unemployment? Which of these has the most impact on the economy? Explain.

Week 7 DQs

Post your response to the following: How does the federal government implement its fiscal policies? Given economic conditions today, do you suggest expansionary fiscal policy or contractionary fiscal policy? How would your suggestions affect production and employment? Why?

Post your response to the following: Assume the government is running a budget deficit. Should the government raise taxes to balance the budget? Should the government decrease spending to balance the budget? What are the pros and cons of each action?

Week 9 Capstone DQ

In your own words, using the 10 Principles of Economics outlined in Ch. 1 of Mankiws Principles of Economics, prepare a 200- to 300-word response to the following questions: How can each of the 10 principles be applied in an example or experience with which you are familiar? How do you intend to use your newfound knowledge in future economic decisions?