Essay Instructions: I have included the info provided by my professor...Can you work with this? Please let me know right away so that way if not, I can get to work.
General Topics
Is Social Security System broken?
Does war in Iraq benefit our domestic economy?
Do we need tax reform?
Do benefits of international trade outweigh its costs?
What is the role of human capital in the economy?
What is the real role of Fed in the economy?
Is illegal immigration beneficial to the U.S. economy?
IDEAS FOR THE TOPIC
The EC301 Course Overview contains some general topics that you may use but some of them might be a bit difficult to keep focused on macroeconomics.
I thought I might help you in your thought process by mentioning some topics that have been used by previous students. Hopefully these topics will help you to think of the range of possibilities and enable you to come up with something that you would really enjoy.
1. How the impact of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy on the U.S. economy can be minimized by changes in monetary policy by other members of the G7/G8.
2. In view of the current economic situation, should the FOMC be raising, lowering or leaving interest rates unchanged?
3. The impact of the Federal Reserve on the elections in 1992.
4. How the start of World War II in Europe in 1939 and the U.S. involvement beginning in 1941 pulled the U.S. out of the Great Depression. (Note: this is a macroeconomic history topic and thus does not necessarily require current sources of information.) Remember: the topic is only about the impact of the war; it is NOT a discussion of the depression, the 1929 stock market crash, the causes of the depression or the war or effect of the New Deal, It is not a discussion about the economic impact of war in general and it is not intended to cover the post war era.
5. How the impact of NAFTA on the U.S. economy differed from the predictions that were given prior to the U.S. becoming part of NAFTA.
6. How the deficits of the 1980's contributed to the prosperity of the 1990's.
7. Events during the late 1990’s through the Year 2000 that resulted in a recession in 2001. NOTE: this involves events prior to 2001.
8. The impact of the formation of the European Union on trade between the United States and European nations 1998 ??" 2008
9. The pros and cons of current deficits.
10. How government requirements for the banking system to provide affordable housing led to a global economic crisis.
Whatever topic you pick, stick to the topic: do not go off on “bunny trails” as you develop the paper. Do not go into a lot of background information which may be somewhat related and interesting but not essential. In particular, do not repeat material that one who has taken the course should be expected to know. (Do not repeat EC301 material ??" apply it.) Stay focused.
Paper Format
1,500 ??" 1,700 words, not including the reference (Works Cited) page. Verify this with word-count in Microsoft Word and include the actual word count typed at the bottom of the last page of text, before the reference page.
The paper should be typed, double-spaced, on white paper, with page numbers centered at the bottom of the page.
The title page should contain the following in this order: general topic: specific topic, student's name, course name, date.
Paper should be submitted in the dedicated DropBox in the course shell in Week 7.
Research Sources
Students should use at least four different acceptable research sources excluding the course textbook. The quality and quantity of these references will determine the amount of points earned for research.
Acceptable Sources: In general, citations from Internet websites will NOT count as an acceptable source unless the citation is from a U.S. government website. The Internet can be used to find on-line versions of publications, but such citations should be made only for articles that are published in paper form (i.e., can be found in a library). For instance, you could use a New York Times article that is downloaded from the Internet. Encyclopedias and abstracts are not valid sources. Cutting and pasting information from the Internet is plagiarism.
Recommended Sources:
The Wall Street Journal
New York Times online (e-mail notices of this are available for free)
CNN Financial News online
The Economist (magazine)
The National Review
The National Bureau of Economic Research
any academic and nonacademic journals
library books
government publications (e.g., those of Bureau of Economic Analysis, Bureau of Economic Research, Commerce Department, U.S. Census, etc.)
Format for Citations:
MLA Handbook
Topic Paper Grading Criteria
The purpose of the topic paper is to gain a deeper understanding of a theoretical economic concept through its application to real-world situations. Papers will be assessed according to the appropriate application of economic theory to the specific topic chosen by the student.
Application of Economic Theory:
Are concepts based in economic theory and supported by the real-world data? 0 - 20 points
Are economic terms defined? 0 - 30 points
Are economic concepts explained accurately? 0 - 55 points
Are facts presented and cited accurately? 0 - 40 points
Is a thorough understanding of concepts demonstrated 0 - 35 points
TOTAL 200 Points
TWO ISSUES: (1) A MACROECONOMIC TOPIC AND (2) ONE THAT CAN BE COVERED IN DEPTH WITHIN THE WORD LIMITS.
Your paper must be macroeconomic - i.e., it must cover the overall economy. DO NOT suggest topics that are microeconomic - i.e., that cover firms, industries, and markets. Of course, micro and macro affect each other so if you wish to suggest a micro issue that can affect the macro economy, that is okay BUT it must totally focus on the macro economy. Do not get into social and political issues unless you can show an exact macroeconomic application and then your paper must focus on macroeconomics and not the social or political issues.
Also, your paper should explore a topic in depth, showing ALL the angles and all the pros and cons. Your paper should be totally objective. A person reading the paper should have a tough time trying to figure out where you stand on the topic.
The content of your paper will be judged by the extent to which you have logically supported your points with convincing factual evidence and careful analysis and the extent to which the content serves to illustrate (not simply repeat) something covered in the course. Thus, if you plan to do the term paper with the objective of (hopefully) attaining an “A” in the course, you need to begin early in the course to gather data and begin giving thought to the paper so that as you cover text material you can also consider how you could apply that material to your report.
Regardless of the topic, as indicated in the syllabus, the content may touch on one or more (not all) of the following aspects of macroeconomic thought
Write a paper analyzing the different approaches that might be used by Keynesian theorists and monetary theorists to promote long-run macroeconomic stability. Examine the impact of persistent budget deficits on the trade deficit and analyze the options available to policy makers when national savings presents opportunities to improve the trade deficit. Appraise the position of supply-side economists as it relates to government deficits. Evaluate recent national economic policies as they relate to the magnitude of the trade deficit and analyze the arguments for protectionist policies and the effect, if any, upon the trade deficit.
Although substance is more important than beauty, to obtain an “A” on the report, you must be able to present it in a clear manner using proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Please give consideration to the Writing Tips in this thread.
REQUIRED: AN OBJECTIVE PAPER
Remember: you are not writing a paper to persuade - it is a scholarly research paper. It is not creative writing or writing to entertain. Instead, it is technical writing.
AVOID TOPICS IN WHICH IT IS EASY TO FIND REFERENCES
Remember: the easier it is to find references for your paper, the greater the likelihood that you will NOT be able to cover your topic in depth with all the pros and cons and do so within the 1500 ??" 1700 word limit. Saying the same thing another way, the easier it is to do the paper, the less likely that you will get a high grade on the paper.
The paper must also be in no less than 1500 words and the extent to which it falls short of that requirement; the paper's grade may be reduced. However, that involves 1500 words that are essential to the topic ??" it does not mean taking what could be covered in 500 words and stretching it into 1500 words. If your topic is covered in depth, you will have no problem meeting the minimum word requirement.
GENERAL INFORMATION:
CHECKLISTS OF THINGS TO DO AND AVOID
The report will consist of 1500 ??" 1700 words not counting the words on the Title and References pages. NOTE: DO NOT simply aim for quantity: for example, DO NOT simply take 500 or a 1,000 words of substance and expand it to the required number of words by making wordier sentences. If you have expanded the number of words through “wordiness” and taken what could have been covered in 500 words and made it into a 1500 word report, you will not be given credit for having 1500 words - you will lose points.
QUANTITY WITHOUT QUALITY WILL RESULT IN A LOSS OF POINTS. QUALITY WITHOUT QUANTITY WILL RESULT IN A LOSS OF POINTS. THERE MUST BE BOTH QUANTITY AND QUALITY.
In general, the instructions that impact on grading given to you in other courses requiring a term paper also apply in this course. For example: do not simply quote or paraphrase others but demonstrate original thought and discuss the pros and cons of issues. Document facts and ideas and show sources. All spelling and grammar should be correct. As in other courses requiring a research or term paper, there are various things that may result in loss of grading points. Such things include the following: cover sheet missing, spelling errors, insufficient references for a college term paper, entries for an author not listed with author's last name first, entries not in alphabetical order by author's last name or title if the author is unknown, titles not capitalized properly, titles not underlined, copyright dates not shown, and full Internet address (URL) not included.
