Topic 1: "Making Irrational Choices"

Topic 1: “Making Irrational Choices”
Respond to the following prompts in a post with a minimum of 200 words, then
comment on at least TWO other posts.
 Brainstorm common items that you think consumers pay too much for or that you
think are overpriced (i.e. movie theater popcorn, brand name items, souvenirs,,
etc.). Now think of something more specific, either something that you or someone
who know has purchased. For example, I know someone with a baby who was
traveling and purchased a small pouch of baby food for $2.00, when even more
baby food could have been purchased in a jar for around $0.50.
 Write about your example, then use the principles you’ve learned about (like
scarcity, opportunity cost, rationality, and marginal analysis) to explain why a
person would make the decision to purchase that good.
Topic 2: “Supply and Demand”

 Think of a relevant example in your own life of how a change in the market
(including information, preferences, technology, price of alternative goods,
regulations, taxes, etc.) has shifted either the supply or demand of a good. How
did this change affect the market equilibrium for that good or service? Explain.
 Next, find a relatively recent news article (within the past year) to support your
finding (the news search feature in Google is helpful with this). If you cannot find
an article specific to your example, you may find an article about another similar
good or service. Summarize the article and its findings, then include the URL in
your discussion post.
Topic 3: “Price Controls”

Respond to the following prompt in a post with a minimum of 250 words, then
comment on at least TWO other posts. Respond to the posts indicating your
agreement or disagreement with their position and why. Feel free to bring in
additional references to these reply posts.
 Find a current news article or video (within the past 12 months) that describes
some government intervention in the economy with the intent of controlling prices.
Identify the parties who benefit and those who are or will be hurt by this
intervention. What unintended consequences will likely or have occurred as a
result of this intervention. What is your opinion on this matter? Why? Include your
thoughts and the link to the article in your post.
Topic 4: “Junk Food and Elasticity”

 Recently there has been discussion in the news about taxing beverages (soft
drinks, for example) in an effort to reduce the adverse impact on the health and to
increase the buget revenue. Do you think the demand for beverages is elastic or
inelastic with respect to price?
 Based on your knowledge of the price elasticity of demand, do you think the
deadweight loss of a soda/beverage tax would be relatively large or relatively
small? Why? Do you think taxing beverages would be a good idea? Based on your
analysis, would it really help reduce the number of unhealthy people in the
Vietnam? Explain.
Topic 5: “Utility and Government Policy”

Respond to the following prompt in a post with a minimum of 150 words. Then
In your own words, what is utility? Can utility be measured? Can you measure your own
utility? Can someone else measure your utility? Why or why not? Can social welfare be
measured by “adding up” peoples’ utilities? Why or why not? If not by using utility, how
can policy makers estimate the welfare of government policies?
Topic 6: “Diminishing Returns”

“Diminishing Returns” is a concept, or more precisely, an empirical finding that shows up
in a variety of places in microeconomics. We first encountered it in the module on utility,
and then again in this module on production and costs.
What do economists mean by “diminishing returns” to an input? What causes
diminishing returns? Have you ever observed this principle at work in a job you’ve had?
Describe how you’ve experienced this concept in the real world.
Topic 7: “Where’s the Competition in Perfect

Competition?”
The market structure of perfect competition has a lot of ideal qualities–hence the name
perfect. For example, perfectly competitive firms are productively efficient, and perfectly
competitive markets are allocatively efficient. It is, however, difficult to find many
examples of perfectly competition in the real world. Perfect competition is really a
benchmark against which we compare other market structures in the real world.
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How much actual competition occurs in perfectly competitive markets? Some make the
claim that there is actually no competition between firms in a perfectly competitive
market.
Do you agree or disagree with this claim? What is your reasoning?
Topic 8: “Monopoly”
We’ve observed that there are few examples of perfectly competitive markets in the real
world, yet we use the model of perfect competition as a comparison with other market
structures. Can you think of any examples of monopoly in the real world? Describe
something you believe could possibly called a monopoly and explain why it fits the
characteristics of a monopoly.
Is your example a true, unregulated monopoly? (For example, Microsoft has
been called a monopoly, but it is not the sole producer of computer operating systems,
so strictly speaking it’s not a monopoly.)
If there are few true monopolies, what can we learn from studying that market structure?
Topic 9: “Oligopoly”
Name a product that you regularly purchase from a firm that operates in an oligopolistic
industry. Explain why the product and firm fit the model of oligopoly. Think about the TV
commercials and/or print advertisements that you’ve seen from this industry: What
interdependence have you noticed between the firm you selected and its rivals in terms
of product differentiation, price leadership, or price competition? Explain your answer.

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Topic 1: “Making Irrational Choices”

Topic 2: “Supply and Demand”

Topic 3: “Price Controls”

Topic 4: “Junk Food and Elasticity”

Topic 5: “Utility and Government Policy”

Topic 6: “Diminishing Returns”

Topic 7: “Where’s the Competition in Perfect

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