For this assignment, you will be expected to write a 4-6 page (1000-1500 words) paper using the existing course materials.

One of the central questions that this course asks is whether capitalism is a rational economic system.  Does it make sense, for people, to let the market be the central and determining factor in our lives?  In the world today, nearly every person on this planet is dependent on the market for their survival; as such, we need to consider what to do about it.

Your assignment is to assess whether it is sensible (a good idea) for human societies to be shaped so powerfully by market forces. Are people better or worse off as a result of capitalism?  In the final sections of your paper, you should provide suggestions for what people or governments might do to improve upon the current situation.

You are expected to draw from the course materials, the readings and films and modules. This is important: all of the information you need to build a strong argument is provided, and while I know there is a lot of interesting stuff out there to read, I want you to work with the material I have given you.

Your grade will be primarily (but not entirely) based on:

1) the coherence of your argument. Does it make sense? Is it logical? Does it hold together? Think of yourself as a lawyer making a case, and the case needs to be coherent and consistent if it is going to convince anyone.

2) your demonstration of complex critical thinking. It is easy to just repeat what you hear in the world without reflecting critically on it. For example, you’ve probably heard that private companies are more “efficient” than government institutions. But just because people say it, doesn’t make it true: there may be a strong argument that private companies are very wasteful and inefficient, depending on how you look at it. Your paper should reflect the fact that you have thought critically and deeply about the things we are usually given as “common sense.”

3) the clarity of your writing. Writing clearly can be challenging. I’m not talking about grammar and spelling, I’m talking about whether someone can sit down and read what you’ve written and understand your point. The trick here is to write simply and clearly. Do not try to dazzle your audience with the big words you know (because maybe you don’t actually know them). Do not try to construct really long complicated sentences. This usually backfires! Write in the same way you speak, and write as if you *need* the person reading it to understand *exactly* what you mean. That way, your ideas will shine through, and will not get lost in confusing sentences and big words.

4) your effective use of course materials. I’ve provided you with a lot of interesting material, and this is your chance to use it. Make sure you use it well! If you take an idea or a quote from a reading, you have to cite it (I don’t care what format you use, as long as you communicate to me where you got it.) If you quote something make sure you understand what it means, do not just throw random quotes into essays. Show me that you’ve read and understood the material well enough that you have an opinion about it. This is part of the reason I do not want you to find outside sources, I want you to illustrate that you understand these ones. If I see outside sources referenced, I will assume you are being dishonest, which leads me to…

5) the integrity and honesty of your work. You will not get bonus points for not cheating, but you will get zero and a possible expulsion if you do cheat. It is totally not worth it. Do not write the essay with your friend and change a few words around (blackboard will catch it, I’ll notice, you’ll both get busted). Do not google a few things and throw that into your essay (blackboard will catch it, I will notice, you’ll get busted). Do not pay someone to write your essay for you (if I find it questionable, I will ask you to explain your essay to me personally on zoom). Do not copy your essay from somewhere and then run it through cheat-busting software like Spinbot to words into their synonyms (it is extremely obvious, you will get brutally busted.)

In fact, I strongly urge you not to use any software like synonym generators or grammar fixers, because it will look like cheating to me. I will not take off marks if your spelling and grammar is a bit off, because I want to hear *your voice* come through your essay. If you do your own work, even if it isn’t the best work in the world, I will be generous with part marks, because my goal here is to help you succeed. However, if I suspect that you have been dishonest, I will no longer be generous.

Make sure you understand this: if I doubt the integrity of your work, you will have to talk to me on zoom, face to face, to discuss your essay. You will need to explain it to me in real time, and I will have to be satisfied that you did indeed write the essay yourself. This is not a fun way to meet me! It will be stressful and uncomfortable. It is much easier to simply write the best essay you can and trust that your effort will be rewarded. If you need any help in the weeks prior to the essay being due (not the night before) I will be happy to help if I can. It is an interesting and complicated question that can be answered many different ways and I will be looking forward to seeing what you all think. Good luck!

Before completing this graded discussion. You should have full understanding of the concepts below, if you don’t please use the textbook and review them first.

Profits, Markets, Competition, Market Structure, Labor Costs, Innovation, Entrepreneurial ability, Improvements in technology, Productivity, Comparative Advantage, Physical Capital, Government Regulations, Business Incentives

Instructions and Steps:

1. View the following 3 TED Talks (video presentations). As you watch the videos, take notes of any relevant information.

The single biggest reason why startups succeed | Bill Gross  https://youtu.be/2RD0OZCyJCk

The art of entrepreneurship | Julie Meyer  https://youtu.be/jeQ7C4JLpug
 
The art of innovation | Guy Kawasaki  https://youtu.be/iIiAAhUeR6Y

2. Decide which of the 3 TED Talks best responds to this question;

What is the goal of a business or an entrepreneurial endeavor, and which factors can best help achieve this goal? 

3. Produce a no more than 200 word Post in which you explain your position. Your post must contain at least the following elements:

It must state the title and the author of the chosen TED talk.

It must state the reason why believe that TED talk best answers the question.

It must explicitly explain the relationship, connection, or link between the ideas provided in the TED Talk and the concept of Entrepreneurial Ability or Entrepreneurship.

Discussion Question: The Bretton Woods system was a better designed international monetary system than the gold standard but, like the gold standard, it ultimately failed to allow countries to successfully combine exchange rate stability with the joint attainment of internal and external balance, and thus became, in Krugman’s words, “a victim of the trilemma” (Krugman, p. 271). Do you agree?

Your project will consist of a 2-4-page paper as described below.  Your paper is to be double spaced and 12 Ariel font.  You should include ALL references, especially anything dealing with the data your analyzed.  Be careful not to plagiarize, copy and paste.  It is very easy to recognize. 

As the Chairman of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) you are to discuss the current status of the economy and make recommendations to the FOMC for monetary policy.  These recommendations can include the federal funds rate target, open market operations or even a change in the require reserve ratio.  When deciding what policy, you should remember what you learned about how the Fed reacts to market changes, how the market responses and whether or not they will even use certain policies. 
Your recommendation should include a discussion of the current economic conditions and outlook (which is not good).  Include reviewing macroeconomic information, forecasts, financial markets, international conditions, or anything you believe is affecting the current economic climate.  Based on these current economic conditions, discuss your concerns, analyze the economy, and make your recommendations.  Make sure your analysis and recommendations are based on the latest available economic information and indicators.  Also make sure you support your conclusions keeping in mind the three economic goals.  In your recommendations, be forward looking and think about the implications your recommendations have on employment, output, and inflation over the next few years.
You can look at current statements and minutes from the most recently available FOMC meetings on the FEDs website to help guide you.

Describe the current structure of the industry with the use of the five-forces
framework. Explain the competitive landscape in terms of value creation and capture. Next, explain
how your findings in the macro-analysis section could impact the structure of the industry in the future.
I uploaded the research proposal and these 3 pages should only include the industry analysis part,  don’t need to write about any other things.

using an econometric model (regression analysis) and a separate forecasting technique (such as moving average or exponential smoothing) for sales forecast.
Results of the regression analysis must include:
a) An executive summary of the outcomes.
b) Information supporting the choice of the variables, including the socio-economic variables (i.e., justification for model specification).
c) Detail concerning the model development and data acquired.
d) Estimation of the regression model.
e) Test for statistical significance of estimated coefficients
f) Interpretation of the results with implications to business policy, and
g) Estimation and interpretation of the elasticities and the implication to pricing strategy.
Paper format: 12-point font size, double-spaced.
Page limit: a maximum of five pages for the main body of the project. The page limit excludes tables and graphs, the front page and the reference page.

Sectoral Analysis
Select one from the following topics for your analysis: education, health, economic sectors (Agriculture, Industries, Services), poverty.
You have clearly stated the microeconomic topic by showing its importance in HongKong.
At least 3 economic indicators of your choice from the World Bank data (http://data.worldbank.org/country) and/or other organizations such as the UN Development Program (http://hdr.undp.org/en/data#) to describe the current trends in Hong Kongs development. (Besides gross national savings as a percentage of GDP, level of Gross Domestic Product of the region, and country’s gross national income (GNI))
Describe and analyze the factors behind the trends by looking at the different policies and programs on the issue, adopted by Hong Kong through the years.
Show at least two peer-reviewed references.

COMPARE AND CONTRAST ZIMBABWE AND THAILAND and their efforts to conserve biodiversity (consider threats like habitat destruction, human-wildlife conflicts, over-hunting, and the growing wildlife trade). Your response should be 2 or 3 paragraphs in length.

Did you find a trend with richer, more developing countries doing less toward supporting biodiversity?