Each student is asked to write three essays on the subjects below; each essay should be about 830 words (+/- 10%).

 

1.   ‘The people with whom we interact on a regular basis, and even some with whom we interact only sporadically, influence our beliefs, decisions and behaviors’. Discuss this statement from Jackson (2010) and explain, by using example from the literature, the effectsofsocialnetworksoneconomicactivity(e.g.jobssearching,andpoliticalopinions).

Introduction(150words)

Introduce the field/issue you are focusing on/give some background. Explain the structure of the essay.

As a starting point, find the paper the title of the essay refers to (there is the indication of the author in the text of que essay). Introduce the relevant theory and explain its importance (in which field, why, few examples to introduce the reader to this topic).

Thenyoucanexplainhow therestofthe essayisstructured.

Tip:Theintroductionshouldbeshort, conciseandshouldsummarisethecontentof theessay. Make sure you read this partseveral times and that the introduction is clear, it flows well and it explains the economic context.

Mainbody(350words)

Extend what you briefly described before with the help of the theory and of few theoretical papers.Usemoretheoreticalpapers/textbooktogivean(historical)backgroundoftheproblem and then use applied papers (following section) to give robustness to your response.

Tips: Organize your material in paragraphs that relate logically to each other. Avoid the ‘shopping list’ approach when presenting papers; make sure you link papers/textbooks.

Appliedexamples (200words)

Extend what you briefly described before with the help of the theory by using some applied examples/experiments.

Conclusion(130words)

Summarise yourargument briefly. Elaboratemoreonthepolicyimplications ofyouranalysis if you have some space left.

 

2.  Familysizeindevelopedcountrieshasbeendecreasinginthelast50years,whileinthe same period per capita income increased. Given constant tastes, children must be considered as an inferior good. In other countries, the number of children did increase despiteanincreaseinpercapitaincome.Discussthisargumentandillustrateitusingthe microeconomic tools -budget constraint and indifference curve diagrams- highlighting the reason why ‘economic preferences for children’ may vary across countries. Introduction (200 – 300 words)

Introduction(150words)

Introduce the field/issue you are focusing on/give some background. Explain the structure of the essay.

Asastartingpoint,findpapersthatrelatetothetopictheessayrefersto.Goon‘googlescholar’ andfindpapersoninferiorgoods,demographictrendsandincome,fertilityratesindeveloping versusdevelopedcountries,determinantsoffertility.Brieflyillustratewhatinferiorgoodshave to do with the number of children in a given country. Give few examples to make a point.

Thenyoucanexplainhow therestofthe essayisstructured.

Tip:Theintroductionshouldbeshort, conciseandshouldsummarisethecontentof theessay. Make sure you read this partseveral times and that the introduction is clear, it flows well and it explains the economic context.

Mainbody(350words)

Extend what you briefly described before with the help of the theory. This is the section in which you use a graph and the maximisation tools you have learnt in class to make the point you are making.

Appliedexamples (200words)

This essay requires some applied examples so that your point is morerobust. Is the point you aremaking confirmedbytheavailablestatistics?Whichcountriesyou arerelating to?Isthere any exception? Why?

Conclusion(130words)

Summarise your argument briefly. Elaboratemoreonthepolicyimplications of your analysis if you have some space left.

 

3.  ‘There are many critiques ofthetools andmodels ofneoclassical microeconomics, far more than we can utilized given the word-page constraints of the article: so much incoherence, so few words. Hence only a portion of the critiques will be used, while the others will be cited in footnotes as supporting critiques’. Discuss this extract from Lee and Keen (2004) and elaborate on the critiques the authors refer to.

Introduction(150words)

Introduce the field/issue you are focusing on/give some background. Explain the structure of the essay.

As a starting point, find the paper the title of the essay refers to. Introduce the neo-classical microeconomic theory and explain in a very general way the criticisms this stream of economics receives.

Thenyoucanexplainhow therestofthe essayisstructured.

Mainbody(350words)

Youneedtoelaborateonthecritiques(whicharethosecritiques?)andwhythosepitfallsinthe neo-classical economic theory do matters when studying economic issues.

Appliedexamples (200words)

Extendwhatyoubrieflydescribedbeforewiththehelpoffewappliedpapers. Youcanusethe results of applied researches or experiments to validate the points you made before.

Conclusion(130words)

Summarise yourargument briefly. Elaboratemoreonthepolicyimplications ofyouranalysis if you have some space left.

 

 

Bibliography(thenumberofwordsinthissection doesnot count)

PleasefollowtheHarvardstylereferencing.Example:Youaredescribingideaspresentedina journal article that you read in your own words. The in-text citation would look like as in the following sentence:

‘GlostenandMilgrom(1985)provideamodelofadealermarketandanalysetheconsequences of asymmetric information about the stock’s underlying value for the functioning of such a market’.

Or

‘A more recent study on this issue provided a model of a dealer market and analyse the consequencesofasymmetricinformationaboutthestock’sunderlyingvalueforthefunctioning of such a market’ (Glosten and Milgrom, 1985).

 

The reference in the bibliography would be the following: Glosten, L.R. and Milgrom, P.R., 1985. Bid, ask and transaction prices in a specialist market with heterogeneously informed traders. Journal of financial economics, 14(1), pp.71-100.

 

 

Notes

Read recommended material from the lectures and tutorials. Read additional readings too (if you do not where to find them, ask your lecturers).

Structureyouressay sothat thereaderisnotlost when reading it.

Becoherentandclear -writeshortsimplesentences(nomorethantwo/threelines). You can use footnotes if needed but limit their use.

Do not include irrelevant material. Plagiarise-avoidacademicmisconduct.