Writing Assignment

This writing assignment accounts for 15% of your final grade. The assignment will be due on Tuesday, December 5th at the beginning of class. Please note that late papers will NOT be accepted and will result in a grade of zero.

Carefully listen to the program and/or read the transcript entitled "Is the American Dream Really Dead?" (from January 18th 2017 Freakonomics broadcast) and use your own words to write a brief commentary based on the following instructions.

1. Start your commentary with an introduction - a short paragraph which summarizes the main points of the program.

2. Next, you are asked to comment on the following issues more specifically:

(1) What is the American Dream and what is the economics of the American Dream?

(2) What does Prof. Raj Chetty study and why is his research important? Based on his findings, in the US, what percentage of children from the bottom 20 percent income bracket actually make it to the top 20 percent? What are the numbers for other countries? Is it true that "the American Dream" might as well be called "the Canadian Dream"?

(3) What was the "Moving to Opportunity" (MTO) program implemented in the 1990s and what was the main purpose of the program? What did researchers initially conclude from the MTO experiment? And what significantly different results did Chetty find while re-evaluating the MTO data? Do you think the MTO type of program could be effective for the whole country?

(4) According to Chetty, what are the five significant factors which might enhance the probability of achieving the American Dream and how specifically could each factor affect our upward income mobility?

(5) So, do you think the American Dream is still alive? And do you know any person in your life who actually achieved the American Dream?

3. The last paragraph is the conclusion. You should summarize the main points raised in your commentary. Also, be sure to provide your own interpretation or critique of the main issues. Do you generally agree with the program on the main issues? Explain why or why not.

Length of your paper: Minimum 2 pages and maximum 4 pages of text, Times New Roman 12-point font, double-spaced, with 1 inch margins on all sides. (Failure to comply with these requirements will result in an automatic deduction of 10% of your paper grade.)

You must work independently and write up your own paper. Make sure that you use your own words and do not use any material from any outside sources for your paper. Please note that I reserve the right to use on-line databases such as turnitin.com to check the authenticity of your writing. As indicated in the course syllabus, I want to emphasize that plagiarism is a very serious academic offense and will result in an F for the course and other disciplinary action.

You may come to me at any time if you have any questions regarding your writing assignment. In fact, I strongly urge you to come by my office hours or make an appointment to see me - I will be happy to go over your writing with you.