Devry ECON312 Discussions Latest 2022 January (Full)

ECON312 Principles of Economics

Week 1 Discussion

Economic Thinking and Economic Systems

1. Opportunity Cost: Tasty Ice Cream or Pain?

Which is better, to get up early in the morning and go for a walk in humid and muggy weather or to stay inside a cool home and enjoy a delicious bowl of ice cream topped with your favorite goodies while watching a comedy show? Which choice would you make and why? Provide an explanation of your thinking process, including the costs and benefits of each choice.

2. Life Choices and Lessons

Share an example from your life where you had to make a choice knowing that you are giving up opportunities for doing or gaining something else. Tell us about your thinking process and how you arrived at your final choice. Would you make the same choice again? Why or why not?

3. Rational Thinking and Scarcity

Why do consumers make choices when they acquire something (jobs, money, friends, vacations, sleep, living places, etc.)? And why do individual producers or nations have to choose the type, quality, and quantity of what they produce?

4. Capitalism or Socialism?

How does the concept of self-interest make the capitalist system produce better goods and services than the command or socialist system?

5. Current Event: Economics and Higher Education

Why are more people attending colleges and universities these days than 40 or 50 years ago? Discuss the economic costs and benefits of attending a college by submitting a one- to two-slide narrated PowerPoint file or a short video. Additionally, see if you can find and share an article or news story that supports or expands on this discussion.

ECON312 Principles of Economics

Week 2 Discussion

Demand, Supply, and Elasticity

1. Law of Demand

 Explain the law of demand. Why does a demand curve slope downward? Illustrate with an example.

2. Determinants of Demand

What are the determinants of demand? What happens to the demand curve when any of these determinants change? Distinguish between a change in demand and a movement along a fixed demand curve.

3. Rationing Function of Prices

 An important concept in demand and supply is the rationing function of prices. What do economists mean when they say, “price floors and ceilings stifle the rationing function of prices and distort resource allocation"? Explain with an appropriate example.

4. Price Elasticity of Demand

What are the major determinants of price elasticity of demand? Use those determinants and your own reasoning in judging whether demand for each of the following products is probably elastic or inelastic: (a) bottled water; (b) toothpaste; (c) Spam; and (d) Heinz ketchup.

5. Current Event: COVID-19

Research has shown that face coverings decrease the spread of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19. As such, 2020 saw several changes in the market for these masks (and possibly beyond). Explain, in your own words, how the factors of demand and supply have influenced this market by submitting a one- to two-slide narrated PowerPoint file or a short video.

ECON312 Principles of Economics

Week 3 Discussion

Market Structure and Profit Maximization

In these discussions, exploration is encouraged! Tie your responses to the lesson, readings, and concepts being covered this week.

Each week you must post three times (details below).

Discussion Requirements:

Frequency: Make three posts during the week, with each post submitted on a different date (three separate days), with the first post made no later than Wednesday 11:59 p.m. MT.

Initial Post (20 points): Provide a 200 words or less comprehensive response to your choice of any of the questions below. Make sure to copy and paste the question above your response so the reader knows which question you are answering. The copy/pasted question text/title is excluded from the word count.

Response Posts (5 points each): Provide two separate high-quality responses (more than just "I agree", etc.) to any of your peers' Initial Posts and/or to instructor posts.

Multimedia Responses:

Rather than just posting text, any post can be submitted as a multimedia piece that accompanies a short description in the post's comment area. This multimedia piece could be an attached narrated PowerPoint file, a linked or embedded Kaltura video, an audio-only podcast-style response, or another similar type of multimedia presentation.

1. Concepts of Cost

1. Use an appropriate example from your experience to distinguish between accounting profit, economic profit, and normal profit. Based on your analysis, does accounting profit or economic profit determine how entrepreneurs allocate resources between different business ventures? Please explain based on your example.

2. Market Structure: Pricing

2. Your uncle has just purchased a wheat farm and wants your advice on how he should price his product. Explain to your uncle the characteristics of the market structure under which his farm falls and how this will help him to determine the price and quantity of the wheat he will produce.

3. Market Structure: Barriers to Entry

3. Barriers to entry are an important characteristic of market structures. Discuss the major barriers and how these can foster a monopoly or an oligopoly. How do these barriers give rise to monopolies that are considered socially justifiable?

4. Market Structure: Characteristics

4. You have been retained as a consultant by a small firm that is opening a neighborhood Mexican restaurant in a suburban community. Explain to the owners the basic characteristics of the market structure they are operating in and how they should differentiate their restaurant from others in the area?

5. Current Event: COVID-19 and Its Economic Impact

5. The economic fallout from COVID-19 has been devastating and the end is not in sight. When we shopped in the past, it was easy to find items such as toilet paper, cleansers, and so on. Shoppers in 2020 rarely or inconsistently can find these items. In your opinion, why is it so hard now? Are there any steps that can be taken to alleviate these shortages? Respond to these questions by submitting a one- to two-slide narrated PowerPoint file or a short video.

ECON312 Principles of Economics

Week 4 Discussion

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

In these discussions, exploration is encouraged! Tie your responses to the lesson, readings, and concepts being covered this week.

Each week you must post three times (details below).

Discussion Requirements:

Frequency: Make three posts during the week, with each post submitted on a different date (three separate days), with the first post made no later than Wednesday 11:59 p.m. MT.

Initial Post (20 points): Provide a 200 words or less comprehensive response to your choice of any of the questions below. Make sure to copy and paste the question above your response so the reader knows which question you are answering. The copy/pasted question text/title is excluded from the word count.

Response Posts (5 points each): Provide two separate high-quality responses (more than just "I agree", etc.) to any of your peers' Initial Posts and/or to instructor posts.

Multimedia Responses:

Rather than just posting text, any post can be submitted as a multimedia piece that accompanies a short description in the post's comment area. This multimedia piece could be an attached narrated PowerPoint file, a linked or embedded Kaltura video, an audio-only podcast-style response, or another similar type of multimedia presentation.

1. Measuring GDP

1. Why do economists include only final goods and services in measuring GDP for a particular year and not intermediate goods? Explain with an example. Why don’t they include the value of the stocks and bonds bought and sold and the value of used furniture and used cars bought and sold?

2. Income Approach to Determining the GDP

2. Explain what GDP is, and also explain how GDP is determined using the income approach.

3. Expenditures Approach to Determining the GDP

3. Explain what GDP is, and also explain how GDP is determined using the expenditures approach.

4. Economic Growth

4. What is economic growth and how is it measured? Also, explain how you could determine the growth pattern of the industry that you aim to establish a profession in by analyzing the components of GDP.

5. Current Event: GDP Growth Patterns

5. Follow the steps below to obtain real-world information about GDP growth patterns from the Bureau of Economic Analysis to assess GDP. Use your findings to answer the questions below in a one- to two-slide narrated PowerPoint or a short video.

Go to bea.gov (Links to an external site.).

Click on the Tools tab (on the top).

Click on Interactive Data.

Click on GDP & Personal Income under National Data.

Click on Begin Using the Data.

Click on SECTION 1: Domestic Product and Income.

Click on Table 1.1.1. Percent Change from Preceding Period in Real Gross Domestic Product (A) (Q).

To expand your search, click on Modify on the top middle portion of the table above the results, and then change the First Year to 2005 and the Last Year to the current year. Change the Series to Annual, and then click on Refresh Table. Note what happened before and after the recession of 2007–2008.

Also, explore other tables, particularly Table 1.1.2 and Table 1.1.4, to learn about changes in prices and how and why GDP changes.

Questions to Answer

What is the current GDP growth rate?

What components of GDP tend to decline significantly during recessions (particularly during the 2008 recession), and what GDP components rise during expansion?

ECON312 Principles of Economics

Week 1 Discussion

ECON312 Principles of Economics

Week 1 Discussion

ECON312 Principles of Economics

Week 1 Discussion