Economics Essay Assignment

Instructions

Please type your essays using your favorite word processor, and turn it in via drop box on Carmen. Pick one and only one essay to write. If you submit two essays you will receive credit only for the first essay you submit. They should not have to be more than 3 pages, but definitely should answer all parts of the question. A rubric detailing how the essay will be graded is posted alongside this document.

I am available during o?ce hours (and lecture) to answer any questions you may have about the essay prompt. I can also answer specific questions about content from the course you need to understand in order to answer your chosen essay topic. I won't act as your editor or reviewer though.

Clarity, and brevity are valuable. If you understand these topics you should be able to use appropriate terminology, and express yourself with an economy of words. You should also consider this as a take-home exam (where I and your notes are available to help). First make sure you understand the material (study a bit, read some of the readings you may have skipped, ask me questions, etc). Then I would sit down and write the essay or a detailed outline in 0-2 hours putting the most e?ort into the content part of the essay. This would constitute a rough draft. Wait a day, then look over it check for spelling, grammar, and style issues, or write the essay out completely. That also gives you a chance to ask me questions about content you may have realized you didn't know very well when you first wrote your draft.

Legalizing Illegal Goods There are several proposals to legalize marijuana in Ohio. Make your own proposal. Your proposal should include:

• What market structure should be used? Perfect competition or a limited number of growers, wholesales or retailers?
• An accounting of the potential negative externalities, and whether or not you would impose a tax. If you impose a tax how ill the elasticicity of demand of di?erent users e?ect how the tax burden is distributed?
• An accounting of the potential e?ects of local substititution.
• An explanation for how the market will change after de-crimininalization. Will price rise or fall, and why? (Use economic theory to justify your position)

You must use a consequentialist ethical framework, and you must include economic theory explaining predictions, and citations of relevant facts about other markets we discussed in lecture.

Climate Change and Natural Resources There are several proposals to deal with climate change issues. A policy adcovate suggests that free markets will solve all of our problems, and therefroe we should stop all government e?orts to deal with climate change. You should argue against this proposal, and present your own proposal to deal with climate change. Your proposal should in no particular order:

• Explain the concept of externalities and give examples of externalities related to enviromental issues

• Explain how property rights interact with externalities, and mention two ways the government migh intervene to deal with exteranlities.

• Include a discussion of climate change (the negative externalaity comes from the e?ect of greenhouse gases). Pick one metho of dealing with externalities and detail how it might work in this case, whether it has been tried, and what issues might (or already have) arisen.

• Explain how economists evalutate the potential costs of climate change, and give some con- ditions under which significant investment is optimal today to prevent e?ects in the future. Propose an amount that governments across the world should be willing to invest now as a percentage of GDP.

You must use a consequentialist ethical framework, and you must include economic theory explaining predictions and concepts, and citations of relevant facts about other markets we discussed in lecture.