Essay requirements

1.  This should be a persuasive, rather than a descriptive, essay.  It must have a thesis and supporting arguments.

2.  That being said, it will not be in the form of a 5-paragraph English class essay.  You should have an introduction and a conclusion.  You should have a section at the beginning for information and research, in order to educate the reader about the current situation that you are writing about. You should have 3 strong arguments in support of your thesis.  Arguments give answers as to why your thesis is right.  Arguments are not examples.

Thesis:  Cats are better than dogs.
Arguments:  Why?  Because:  They don't need so much care, they are cuter, and they are smaller/less harmful to children.

Notice how the arguments are general and they effectively prove the thesis.  Do not confuse examples with arguments.  (Here is the wrong way:  Cats are better than dogs.  Why?  Because there are indoor cats, tabby cats, and Persian cats.)  I know it sounds crazy here, but it is very easy in an essay to give examples instead of arguments.  Examples can be used to illustrate your arguments, but they are not arguments in and of themselves.

3.  You must have a bibliography or list of sources used.  You must use proper referencing for any material you are using that is not your own.  Use APA, MLA, or Chicago style.  Your choice, as long as it is consistent and correct.

4. Your essay must be 5 pages, double spaced, normal margins, no larger than 12 point font.  This is not including the title page and bibliography.  You may use headings throughout your paper.  You must have a title page.  Hand in 2 printed copies of your essay by 10:24am on January 24. 

Grade 12 essay ideas - Banker to the Poor

You will come up with ideas based on the book you have read.  The discussion on Monday, January 16 will have guided questions that can lead to ideas as well.  Your essay must have a thesis, a description of the situation, and arguments to prove your thesis.

Essay Ideas

1. Describe the differences in women's experiences in Bagladesh compared with Canada.
2. - or between poor women's experiences in Bangladesh compared with Canada.
3. Would you want to take a job as a bank staffer with the Grameen Bank? Are Canadian young adults suited for this type of job?
4. How is Yunus different than many business people, adults, and traditional ways of thinking that you see in Canada today? In your opinion, should Canadian business people be more like him, or less? Would his attitudes work in Canada?
5. What do the recipients of Grameen loans do with the money they borrow? Would you consider them to be more or less entrepreneurial than people in North America today?
6. Is it easier to start a small business today in Bangladesh than in Canada?
7. See p. 149-151. Is credit a human right? Yunus has a new way of looking at people - he sees them as creative entrepreneurs and he sees micro-credit as an empowering, liberating force. This is different than the traditional economic view that sees people as consumers and labourers and results in credit being an enslaving force.
8. See p. 140-142 and p. 161. Why are the poor poor? Is this similar to the way people here view young people? Do they already have skills or do they need more and more training? Is the Ontario Summer Company program similar to Grameen?
9. See p. 176-188. Could micro-credit work in Canada?
10. See p. 201-212. What is actual economic growth? Is profit maximization the way to go? Look at our local businesses here and the value they place on trust and relationships. Are small town businesses in Canada similar to the ones described in this passage? Has Yunus changed the way you think about economics?

Ideas for Grade 12 essays - Wealthy Barber and Money Rules

You will come up with ideas based on the book you have read.  The discussion on Monday, January 16 will have guided questions that can lead to ideas as well.  Your essay must have a thesis, a description of the situation, and arguments to prove your thesis.

Examples:

Personal finance should be a mandatory course in high school.

Payday loan companies such as Money Mart only prey on the unfortunate and should be banned.

Payday loan companies provide a necessary service in society.

The CPP should be increased.

The CPP should be shut down and instead people should be responsible for their own retirement savings.

If everyone does as the personal finance writers say and start to save more and spend less, Canada will quickly go into recession.

There is no such thing as "good" debt.

You should save some money every week/ month, no matter what your age or income.

The very best investment you can make is to buy a house.

You should never rent if you can afford to buy a home.

Monetary Policy and Interest Rates

Here is the link to the Money Sense article needed to complete the assignment (will be given out next week):

http://www.moneysense.ca/spend/real-estate/mortgages/us-federal-reserve-interest-rate-hike-impacts-canadians/

National Debt Quiz to try

American Quiz
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/quiz-u-s-government-get-money/

Link to interactive surplus and deficit chart

Click here for interactive chart

News clips on Canada's debt and deficit situation

http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/canadian-politics/john-ivison-with-federal-budget-liberals-have-consigned-canada-to-118-6-billion-deficits-into-next-decade

Causes of Business Cycles

Business cycles are caused by fluctuations in Aggregate Demand.

Other causes and contributing factors are the following:

• Fluctuations in Investment spending
• the Multiplier effect
• Fluctuations in Exports
• other events such as war, disaster, and shocks such as the banking collapse/financial crisis in 2008

Read this recent news article from Australia about the multiplier effect that government spending can have in an economy:
ABC news story

Business Cycles

The business cycle refers to the ups and downs of AD over time.  There are 5 phases to the business cycle:
Trough
Recovery
Expansion
Peak
Recession (defined as 2 successive quarters of negative GDP growth)

Two Models of the Economy

We can think of the economy in 2 ways:

1) AD/AS model - The economy is like our demand and supply model used in microeconomics, except that we add all the demand in the economy to get Aggregate Demand, and all the supply in the economy is Aggregate Supply

2) Income-Flow Model - also called Circular Flow Model - the economy is like a tire that expands and contracts.  Leakages from the circular flow make the economy contract.  These leakages are Taxes (T), Savings (S), and Imports (M).  Injections into the circular flow make the economy expand.  These injections are Government Spending (G), Real Investment Spending (I), and Exports (X).

Chapter 9 Quiz or Assignment?

You choose!
Either do page 214 Q. 8 and hand in by Wednesday, November 30 at 10:30 AM or write the quiz.

CBC interactive unemployment chart

CBC interactive unemployment chart

Venezuela - highest inflation rate in the world

Click here to view BBC documentary

Despite their vast oil reserves, Venezuela is experiencing a political and economic crisis.

OPTIONAL Reflection to do and hand in:
1.  Describe 3 of the problems the country faces. (9 marks)
2.  What are the effects of high inflation on a country?

What are Market Structures?

How is the market for a good or service structured?  See p. 153 for a good overview.

Perfect Competition and Monopolistic Competition
- competitive
- there many small players who are price takers

Oligolpoly and Monopoly
- a few (or one!) large dominant players
- the firms are price makers

Types of Business Ownership

This is found in Chapter 6 of the textbook.
Read p. 120 - 130.
Do p. 123 q. 1 (Check your Understanding), p. 128 q. 1, p. 133 Q. 1

Be sure to know the advantages and disadvantages to the following types of business ownership:

• Sole proprietorship
• Partnership
• Corporation

Other topics covered:  primary, secondary, and tertiary industries, horizontal and vertical integration.


Refer to list of terms given in class.

What is elasticity of supply?

Elasticity of supply refers to the change in quantity supplied in response to a change in price.

Firms who produce products with elastic supply can increase or decrease their production levels quickly and easily.  Examples are telemarketing firms or candy companies.

Firms who produce products with inelastic supply cannot change their quantity supplied quickly.  Examples are perishable goods.

What is elasticity of demand?

Elasticity refers to the responsiveness of demand to a change in price.

Inelastic goods are goods that people buy at about the same amount no matter if the price goes up or down.  Examples are gasoline and cigarettes.

Elastic goods are things that people will really change their purchases of in response to changes in price.  Examples are vacation packages and house cleaning services. 

Link to Marketplace clip - Sunscreen

Marketplace - Sunscreen

https://youtu.be/pXoZYyag9-0

QUESTIONS

a)      What is happening to the demand for higher SPF sunscreens?  Why is this?  Draw a graph.

b)      Is the price of higher SPF sunscreens higher than that of lower SPF sunscreens? (Ask another person if you are not sure)

c)       We have talked about the importance of information in effective markets.  Do consumers know all the information they need to know about sunscreens, according to this program?  How can businesses capitalize or even take advantage of consumers if consumers are not informed?  Do you think they are doing this?

d)      Apply the concept of diminishing returns to sunscreen SPF levels.

Link to 60 Minutes - China's Real Estate Bubble

60 Minutes - China's Real Estate Bubble

https://youtu.be/VaNAfGBIw1s

Article - updated information on this issue

QUESTIONS

a)      Which sector of the Chinese economy has become prominent in the last number of years as a driver of growth?

b)      What are Chinese people investing in?  Why?

c)       What is this doing to the demand for housing?  Show on a graph and explain what this is doing to the price.

d)      Urbanization means people are moving from the country to the city.  Does this affect the graph in the previous question?  Do they have a demand for these apartments?  Explain.

e)      What has happened to the supply of condo housing in China?  What has happened to the supply of low-income housing in China?

f)       Explain the one-apartment policy in China.  Draw a graph to show how this has affected prices.

g)      How are developers getting the money to finance all this building?

h)      What is a bubble? (You may need to research this)

i)        We have learned about some of the drawbacks of a command economy.  Give an example of one of these from the video.

Indiana Jones lesson - Demand, Supply, and Changing Equilibrium

A good review on Demand, Supply, and Changing Equilibrium

Click here to see video