one economic issue of social importance and prepare a written
paper: the paper should illustrate an understanding of the economic issue and depict why it is
important.Academic writing style is required; be sure to use in-text citation and
bibliography (please see an academic style guide…MLA, APA, Chicago, etc.). Also, papers
are expected to be proof-read and free of typos and poor grammar.No late assignments will
be accepted without a preapproved valid reason.All papers need to be submitted on the
due date via Turnitin on Blackboard and in hardcopy at classtime.

An appropriate topic will be based on specific topics in the course and found in a current
events newspaper article or report. This exercise is designed to help and check your ability to
process information, systematically analyze the data/evidence and verbally articulate the
information that you have learned from the class lectures, the required readings, newspapers,
different sources of media and our class discussions. In addition to news sources to detail or
describe the economics issue, it is expected that the paper will include three to five academic
sources for the economics concepts and/or applications. A few sample topics that we will
cover that are suitable for the writing assignment (detailed below) in this course are listed
below:

• ?The impact of the supply shocks in the oil market on the price of home heating oil and
  gasoline.

• ?Looking at the evolution of the market economies over time, how do you see the markets
  in our future shape and form?

• ?Pick a real life application of the theory of consumer behavior/utility maximization and
  show how in our routine daily life, we can benefit from our understanding of this theory.

• ?Choose a market structure such as monopoly or oligopoly with a specific industry in mind
  and show how these industries behave within the context of microeconomics

• ?How does a regulated monopoly work? Choose an actual example of a regulated
  monopoly in the United States and discuss how regulation of that industry could benefit
  the consumer as well as the monopolist.

• ?What is a Cartel? Based on your understanding of a cartel, in what kind of an industry can
  we see cartels form? Why are they illegal in the United States? How could cartel
  manipulate markets?

• ?Discuss the impact of raising minimum wages on minimum wage earners and economy as
  a whole.

• ?What are the desired benefits of rent control? What are the real effects of the rent control
  policy on its expected beneficiaries and the society?

  In addition consider sources like the Economic Naturalist (http://www.robert-h-
  frank.com/book.html),The Cartoon Introduction to Economics
  http://standupeconomist.com/cartoon-intro-microeconomics/)or economics books about
  general issues (like Miller,Benjamin and North’sThe Economics of Public Issues) or
  specific economic issue (like Rivoli’sThe Travels of a T-Shirt, see
  http://americanenterprise.si.edu/2011/09/rivolis-travels-of-a-t-shirt/).