Reading Economics in Bratislava

In an effort to broaden our knowledge in the subject of economics we will embark on a reading program to ensure each student is able to pursue topics which both interest and enlighten him/her. Each week you will read and report on an economics article of your choosing.  The article must come from a reliable source - several will be provided but you may submit new sources as you find them.  Your task each week is as follows:

1. find an article from the discipline of economics
2. read the article (and understand what it is saying)
3. write a short "report" on the article which should include:
• briefly summarize the article in your owns words
• explain what you learned and what you found most interesting about the topic
• describe how it relates to general topics we have studied in class

Your "report" should be a minimum of 150 words in lenght and should include a link to the article as well as two pictures which assist in explaining the content of the article.

This assignment should be finished and posted on your blog by Friday of each week.
Please include the date of your post in your title.

Tales of the Demand Curve

In class we will be creating scenarios that relate to three different demand curves: movement along the curve, a shift in the curve and demand for a Veblen good. Your assignment is thus: on a large sheet of poster-paper, you are to write a brief description of a scenario (word problem) for each type of demand - then, for each scenario, you are to draw the design curve as your visual description.
Be sure to write legibly and descriptively. Also, be sure your graphs are easy to read and labeled all lines as fully and accurately as possible.

Questions????? Talk to your classmates and/or see me for help.

Law of Supply...Explained

Law of Supply and Demand - Laws Are Meant To Be Broken

One thing you will learn in life is that nothing is certain (except perhaps death and taxes, but even that is open to debate).  The laws of supply and demand are no different - there are instances when these "laws" do not hold true.  Two interesting examples are called Veblen goods and Giffen goods. 
Your goal today is to research and investigate the meaning of these terms and provide not only a thorough explanation of each, but also examples.

In your blog post:  Explain the laws of supply and demand (how they are supposed to work) and provide an example of each.  Then, explain in your own words (paraphrase) the definition of both Veblen and Giffen goods and provide one example of each type of good.

Along with your written explanations, include pictures which help to illustrate your examples.

Demand, Supply and the Price of Oil

Read the article, "Oil is Plentiful, Demand Weak.  Why Are Gas Prices Going Up?" - then post a brief (150 words or more) response about the factors which are influencing the demand for oil.  Identify the key components of the pricing of oil and explain why they seem to not be working the way we would expect.  With your post, please include at least two pictures and the article that you are reviewing.