Discussion 4 Topic:

How has the U.S. economy been doing in recent years? Why do you think that is? Gather relevant economic statistics, such as the growth rate of real GDP, the unemployment rate, and the inflation rate, to support your case.

Submission Requirements:

• The discussion grade will be based on how thorough and detailed your posts are.
• Your initial post must be published first, should be substantial, and answer the question(s) in detail.
• You must post at least TWO replies to other students’ posts.
• Your replies must be a minimum of 5 sentences long and, again, must be meaningful and detailed.
• Proofread the content of your posts before making them public. Proper grammar and sentence structure are expected.

Review the rubric attached for how this discussion board will be assessed.

11Unread for topic Discussion 4: State of the Macroeconomy:(1)View profile card for Katielee ClementsKatielee ClementsSeptember 12 at 5:50 PM

Discussion 5: Junk Food and Government Action

Discussion Topic:

Recently there has been discussion in the news about taxing junk food (soft drinks, for example) in an effort to reduce the incidence of obesity in the U.S. Do you think the demand for junk food is elastic or inelastic with respect to price.

Based on your knowledge of the price elasticity of demand, do you think the deadweight loss of a soda/junk-food tax would be relatively large or relatively small? Why? Do you think taxing junk food would be a good idea? Based on your analysis, would it really help reduce the number of obese people in the United States? Explain.

Submission Requirements:

• The discussion grade will be based on how thorough and detailed your posts are.
• Your initial post must be published first, should be substantial, and answer the question(s) in detail.
• You must post at least TWO replies to other students’ posts.
• Your replies must be a minimum of 5 sentences long and, again, must be meaningful and detailed.
• Proofread the content of your posts before making them public. Proper grammar and sentence structure are expected.

Review the rubric attached for how this discussion board will be assessed.

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Discussion 6: Efficiency of Free Markets

Discussion Topic:

Economists have long known that free markets are perfectly efficient. Consider Q1 in the graph, above. How much do consumers value one more unit of output (Q1 + 1)? How much do producers value one more unit of output? Use the concepts of consumer surplus and producer surplus to explain why Q2 is more efficient than Q1. Now use the concept of total economic surplus to explain why the equilibrium quantity is the most efficient. Why would Q4 be less efficient than the equilibrium quantity?

Submission Requirements:

• The discussion grade will be based on how thorough and detailed your posts are.
• Your initial post must be published first, should be substantial, and answer the question(s) in detail.
• You must post at least TWO replies to other students’ posts.
• Your replies must be a minimum of 5 sentences long and, again, must be meaningful and detailed.
• Proofread the content of your posts before making them public. Proper grammar and sentence structure are expected.

Review the rubric attached for how this discussion board will be assessed.

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Discussion 10: Impact of Lower Corporate Tax Rate

Discussion Topic:

Suppose Congress votes to decrease corporate income tax rates. Use the AD/AS model to analyze the likely impact of the tax cuts on the macroeconomy. Show graphically and explain your reasoning. What exactly causes AD and/or AS to shift? What happens to GDP and the aggregate price level? Why?

Submission Requirements:

• The discussion grade will be based on how thorough and detailed your posts are.
• Your initial post must be published first, should be substantial, and answer the question(s) in detail.
• You must post at least TWO replies to other students’ posts.
• Your replies must be a minimum of 5 sentences long and, again, must be meaningful and detailed.
• Proofread the content of your posts before making them public. Proper grammar and sentence structure are expected.

Review the rubric attached for how this discussion board will be assessed.

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Discussion 12: Absolute and Comparative Advantage

Discussion Topic:

Suppose that the United States and Canada can each produce two products: lumber and beef. Create a table like the one below, showing labor requirements per unit of output for each country. (Hint: Choose numbers for each country that are easily divisible by one another.)

Labor Requirements per Unit of Output

United StatesCanadaLumberBeef

What does absolute advantage mean? How do you calculate absolute advantage? In what output(s) does the U.S. have an absolute advantage? Explain using the data from your table. In what output(s) does Canada have an absolute advantage? Explain using the data from your table.

What does comparative advantage mean? How do you calculate comparative advantage? In what output(s) does the U.S. have a comparative advantage? Explain using the data from your table. In what output(s) does Canada have a comparative advantage? Explain using the data from your table.

What product should each country export? Why?

Submission Requirements:

• The discussion grade will be based on how thorough and detailed your posts are.
• Your initial post must be published first, should be substantial, and answer the question(s) in detail.
• You must post at least TWO replies to other students’ posts.
• Your replies must be a minimum of 5 sentences long and, again, must be meaningful and detailed.
• Proofread the content of your posts before making them public. Proper grammar and sentence structure are expected.