First, pick 2 Ecosystem Services from the list in slide 13
of the topic called Intro to some key concepts of
Economics.
Second, for each of your 2 ecosystem services, please
explain how each is supposed to work. This is key to
answering the entire question, so please focus on this.
Google can help with this! Please note that this is a skill
that you will have to master to be successful in your
careers.
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Third, for each of your 2 ecosystem services, please
thoroughly explain at least one human behavior that
has disrupted the operation of the Ecosystem Service
and explain the economic and environmental impacts
of that disruptive behavior. Please be thorough.
Fourth, for each of your 2 Ecosystem Services, explain
how the disruptions to the Ecosystem Service impact
the two different parts of the world (the global north
nations and global south nations). More specifically,
explain how the lives of the people and the national
economies are impacted.
Fifth, for each of your 2 ecosystem services, thoroughly
explain 3 things that we should start doing right now to
repair or at least stop the damage to the Ecosystem
Services you selected. Be sure you explain how each
of your recommendations would actually lead to
solution of the problem. Remember, you need 3
recommendations for each of your ecosystem
services.
2. The objective of this question is to help you:
understand the real issues of scarcity of resources and
the choices we must make.
Understand the issues of rational behavior as it applies
to a real-life problem.
Understand utility concepts as they are applied to the
Keystone Pipeline Project.
Understand some of the basics of the theory of
consumer behavior.
Understand the concepts of marginal analysis as
applied to the Keystone Pipeline project.
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All parts of this question are part of the topic called Intro to
some key concepts of Economics.
Planet Earth is our only home for the time being. As global
populations grow and our resources dwindle, we must worry
more about the issues of SCARCITY AND CHOICE.
i. There are 17 Rare Earth Elements.
1. Pick any 2 of them and explain in detail why
each of them are so critical to us. Use
Google to look them up.
Include in your answer:
a. What are 3 things it is used for?
b. Why are each of the resources so
critical?
c. Where in the world the resource is
located and approximately how
much is left?
2. Currently America is dependent on China
for rare earth elements. That clearly is not
a good situation for America.
i. What are 3 thing American
State and Federal governments
should do to make America
more self-sufficient in this area?
ii. What are 3 things American
private sector companies
should do to make America
more self-sufficient in this area?
The theory of rational behavior says that we humans
act in our own self-interest. Given our actual behavior
and the decisions we have made and continue to
make relative to the planet:
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i. Explain 3 economic consequences of continued
over-pumping in America. Use Google to gather
info. Please be thorough.
ii. Is continued over-pumping of aquifers in America
in our best interest? If yes, explain why. If no,
explain why not. Please provide thorough
explanations.
iii. Explain how the continued over-pumping of
aquifers in America, China, and India, could
impact our ability to survive on the planet. This
will require that you find out what things these 3
nations have in common that are related to
aquifers. Connect the dots and explain how our
ability to survive on the planet could be
impacted by continued over pumping of aquifers
in those nations. Please provide plenty of detail
here. Google can help!
iv. Explain in detail 2 things we can do to stop the
over-pumping problem in America. In your
explanation, please talk about the positive and
negative impacts of your solution. Hint: Focus on
the top uses of water in the world.
Utility Concepts:
i. Explain the 3 concepts: Utility, Marginal Utility,
and Diminishing Marginal Utility. This material is
provided in the slides and audio lecture.
ii. Explain 1 example of EACH of those 3 concepts
as they might be applied to the Keystone XL
Pipeline project.
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The Theory of Consumer Behavior: This material is
provided in the slides and audio lecture.
i. Explain EACH of the key assumptions of the
Theory of Consumer Behavior and what the
theory tells us. Read the slide and listen to the
audio lecture to get this.
ii. Does the theory of consumer behavior reflect
reality? If yes, then why. If no, the why not.
Marginal Analysis
Marginal analysis is a decision-making tool. This
material is provided in the slides and audio lecture.
i. Please define Marginal Cost
ii. Please define Marginal Benefit,
iii. Explain the following 3 cases in terms of what you
should do regarding the activity involved. Should
we do more of the activity, less of the activity, or
keep doing the same thing? Explain why in each
case.
1. MB>MC
2. MC>MB
3. MC=MB
iv. Explain 1 example of MC related to the Keystone
XL Pipeline question.
v. Explain 1 example of MB related to the Keystone
XL Pipeline question.
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3. The objective of this question is to help you understand
and apply the various concepts related to the Production
Possibility Model.
The Production Possibilities Model is one of the first Economic
Models students learn about. Please refer to the material
covered in the topic called The Economizing Problem.
Please explain 2 things the model teaches us.
Please explain each of the 4 assumptions of the
model.
Please explain Productive Efficiency and how it relates
to the ppc.
Please explain Allocative Efficiency and provide a
thorough explanation of the 2-step process for finding
the point of allocative efficiency on the PPC.
On the topic of Economic growth: need to see some
detail here.
i. What does it mean?
ii. How can it be graphically represented?
iii. What are the prerequisites to Economic growth?
iv. GDP growth rates in America for the past 60 years
show a steady downward trend. Use what you
have learned about Economics to explain why
you should care about that.
v. Why is Economic growth good for you and your
country? Please be thorough.
vi. Why is Economic growth bad for you and your
country? Please be thorough.
vii. Please provide thorough explanation of 3 factors
that would tend to limit economic growth. Be
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sure you explain how those factors would
actually cause economic growth to be limited.
The Presentville Futureville case:
1. Explain what motivated each group to
make the decisions they made.
2. Explain the impact of those decisions on the
future of each group.
3. Which group is most like America, and why?
4. What does this story teach you?
Explain how you could use the Production Possibility
Model to represent the US Economy during the Corona
Virus pandemic.
4. The objective of this question is to help you begin to
understand the basic elements of the economy and how they
interact. Please note that this is an important skill to master if
you want to maximize your career success going forward.
The Circular Flow Model with Government is another
important model for students to understand. Please use the
material covered in the topic called The Economizing
Problem. For info on the Government sector use the material
covered in the topic called The US Economy Private and
Public Sectors.
Please explain what the model shows us. Be thorough.
List and explain at least 2 of the characteristics of each
component of the circular flow model. Be very
thorough and provide plenty of detail!
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Thoroughly explain how each component of the
model interacts with the other components be very
thorough this requires lots of detail! Explain how all of
the sectors and markets interact with each other. You can do this as part of your answer to part ( b) if you like but
understand that this will require significant detail!
5. The objective of this question is to help you learn how to
ask hard questions of an economic system to determine whats
good and whats bad about it. Learning how to ask excellent
questions is another important skill to master if you want to
successful in your careers.
Every country has its own unique type of Economic System.
Ours is called Capitalism. Please consult the material
covered in the topic called The Market System. Google
may also be of help here.
Please list and explain 4 good things Capitalism has
produced for us over the years. Make sure you provide
thorough explanations of why you believe these are
good things.
This is harder than it looks! Think carefully and be
objective. Nothing is 100% good or bad, so you
will need to be very thorough in your
explanations. Dont talk about pros and cons.
Focus only on good things that capitalism has
produced.
Please list and explain 4 bad things Capitalism has
produced for us over the years. Make sure you provide
thorough explanations of why you believe these are
bad.
Capitalist Economic Systems typically require a steady
flow of resources and expanding markets. Please
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explain in detail what would happen to our American
capitalist system if these two conditions are absent and
explain why we would expect to see those results.
6. The objective of this question is to help you develop a
good understanding of how our capitalist system answers the 4
fundamental questions.
The discussion of the Market System we talked about the
characteristics of the Market system and 4 Fundamental
Questions that every economic system must answer. Please
use the material covered in the topic called The Market
System
List and thoroughly and completely explain those 4
fundamental questions and how they are answered. All the necessary information is provided in the slides and the
audio lectures. Be sure you provide thorough and complete
explanations throughout.
i. What will be produced? (include explanation of
all the concepts presented under this topic)
.
ii. How will the goods and services be produced?
1. Why must firms try to employ the most
economically efficient production
techniques?
2. For each of the following issues, please
explain in detail, why they are important to
a firm and how a firm might address each
one (need to see the detail here):
a. Optimal plant location
b. Resource Prices
c. Resource Productivity
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d. Transportation Costs
Who will get the goods and services?
How will the system accommodate change? Be
thorough! read the slides and listen to the lecture, then
start writing.
Characteristics of the Market system.
i. Select any 5 of the characteristics of the Market
system that we covered, and explain each of
them. Be thorough!
ii. Explain ho
