Unit 4 Links!

Derived Demand: http://www.reffonomics.com/deriveddemand.html

Hiring Workers: http://apecon.us/mrpmfc.gif

Rent: http://www.reffonomics.com/pureeconomicrent.html

Externalities: http://apecon.us/externality2.gif
http://apecon.us/positiveexternaility.gif

Some other links...

Monopolistic Competition: http://www.reffonomics.com/Monopolistic_Competition.html

Competition vs. Oligopoly: http://apecon.us/competitiveoligopoly.gif

Oligopoly: http://www.reffonomics.com/oligopolies.html

Prisoner's Dilemma: http://www.reffonomics.com/prisonersdilema.html


(no clue why these aren't showing up as clickable links anymore...)

Something helpful...

http://www.econedlink.org/lessons/index.cfm?lesson=EM707&page=teacher


And it's interactive!

Monopolies!

Okay - some things that can help you with the monopoly info:

http://www.reffonomics.com/monopoly1.ppt A powerpoint with general info - great info on patents, trademark, copyright, etc (all part of monopoly power).

Demand curve info: http://apecon.us/monopolyperfectcompetition.gif

The graph: http://www.reffonomics.com/monopoly3.html

More later - but getting down some basics over the weekend would be a great idea. :)

Consider yourself warned - the next time we play with the mini-whiteboards, you'll be drawing all of the different market graphs.

Posts

Since Joelle asked, and since a few of you asked me last week before we left -

You do NOT have to post during spring break. Either comments or your analysis.

Relax. Well, finish your paper, I need those.

Have a nice break -

Perfect Competition

Here are some links for PC -

a PPt: http://www.reffonomics.com/perfectcompetition/frame.htm

http://www.reffonomics.com/perfectcompetitiongif.html

http://www.reffonomics.com/perfectcompetition3a.html

http://www.reffonomics.com/perfectcompetition2.html

http://www.reffonomics.com/perfectcompetitionincreaseindemand.html

http://www.reffonomics.com/entryexit.html

http://apecon.us/costcurves.gif

http://www.reffonomics.com/shutdownrule.html

http://www.reffonomics.com/shutdown3.html

http://apecon.us/changingcosts.gif


Whew. Take a break.

OKay

For those people that I've missed:

~Paper - official due date is Thursday. If that stresses you, feel free to email it to me over Break (please not on the Sunday before we return...). :) That will give me time to go over them during Break and still get the grades done. If you have questions or are running into walls, email me.

~Test - unknown for unit 3. Officially, April 11th. Truthfully, there is NO WAY we will be able to finish this unit by then. I'll keep you posted.

~Retests for unit 2. I'd like all people that haven't taken the unit 2 test yet to have it done by Wednesday. Then, I can give you your tests back for you to look over during Break - we'll go over the test when we get back, and retests can start that week. Because of that, the unit 2 test will NOT go on Quarter 3 grades - to do that, retests would have to be done by that Friday (I think it's the 4th) and that just won't happen. So I need to reconfigure your grades.


Some links for you:

Marginal Analysis: http://apecon.us/allmeroth1aa.gif
And Part II: http://apecon.us/allmeroth2aa.gif These 2 will make more sense as we go through things next week.

Costs: http://www.reffonomics.com/costs2/frame.htm
And Part II: http://www.reffonomics.com/costs/frame.htm

Costs & Shutdown: http://www.reffonomics.com/shutdown2.html

Implicit/Explicit: http://apecon.us/explicitandimplicit.gif

Short run/Long run: http://apecon.us/longrunshortrun.gif

Long Run ATC: http://www.reffonomics.com/longrunatccurve.html


Types of competition: http://www.reffonomics.com/typesofcompetition.html




I'll get more of the PC graphs posted after we get into it more next week. :)

Back from the dead...

Hey guys -

I will be back at work tomorrow, but I am on kind of a "limited mobility" type of thing - too much walking & talking leads me to cough my bloody head off. Not pretty. Unfortunately, my illness has affected you guys the most. My schedule is shot.

I know some of you have turned in a rough draft of your paper, and a few of you emailed it to me. I am not able to stay up more than 6 hours right now without feeling like a truck has run me over (yeah, that will make it EXTRA fun tomorrow...my freshmen with a sub for a week, and me already exhausted by the time I get to them...can't wait!). Tomorrow morning, I'll double check when my quarter grades are due, and will probably kick the paper's due date back until about a week before grades are due. That will hopefully give me time to read through the rough drafts, time for you to re-write as needed, and then time for me to re-read them.

It also kind of kicks unit 3 around a little. I will be restructuring tomorrow morning as much as I can - it might be Tuesday before I can say for sure how this will be affecting us overall. We will have to move a little faster, which might hurt some of you.

I can say - the faster you learn the terms for this unit on costs, the easier this unit will be, and the faster it will come to you. That's been true no matter what. :)

See you tomorrow -

KM

Tariff animated gif file

http://apecon.us/tradetariffefficiency.gif

:)

Ooooo-kay...

I have no clue why copying the URL that Phil left (which is identical to the one I had in there, really...) made it work. But I'm glad it is. I forgot to bring home the grading sheet for the blogs, so Phil & those who commented there - I'll update your grades on Monday. :) Thanks for the link, no clue what happened before. Crazy computers.

If you haven't already, look one post down to view the prez on economic policy. I'm curious at your analysis.

Okay - animated gif files on CS & PS:

http://apecon.us/surpluses.gif

http://www.reffonomics.com/consumerproducersurplus.html



Reminder: If you choose to turn in a rough draft for your paper for 3rd quarter project grade, it needs to be in by Friday. This isn't a requirement, but could be considered extra credit, because I might be able to steer you in the direction you need to go. It will be graded as a college term paper - something you will all get to know very well in the next year. :) If you forgot what it needs to be, check your syllabus. If you've lost the syllabus, check Edline. If you hate Edline...well, then you're kinda out of luck.


Also - we are on track to test for unit 2 on Wednesday. That means that retests for unit 1 need to be finished by Tuesday. You can retest as many times as you want, I'll take the highest score. The unit 2 test is similar to unit 1 - 50 m/c questions, with about the first 20 or so straight from old released AP exams. Chapters 4-7 in Mankiw.

Go take a look at some of your peers' blogs - there's some great discussions going on!

Comments?

Jake sent me this link:


http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2008/02/28/sot.bush.gas.prices.cnn



And it made me curious what you guys would say - not necessarily political, but economic analysis of what he is saying.

:)

Price Ceilings & Floors

http://www.reffonomics.com/pricefloor.html

Analysis & application of S & D, elasticity and price ceilings/floors tomorrow!

Oh, and btw - it seems like I am all caught up on blog grading! Amazing! I'll try to get the grades in by tomorrow so you can see, but some people are a little behind, as well. You will know if I got your post by whether or not there is a message from moi. :)


**Calling Phil: Calling Phil**
For some reason, the link to your blog is refusing to work. I've tried a lot of different things, and nothing is working. Even if I go to a new window and type in your address, it will come up with an error message. Would you check to see if something has changed with your blog address, etc? I haven't been there to grade yet. If it's magically disappeared, please don't panic - we'll work it out.

All right...

Okay, guys - it's 9pm, which means I have to go try to relax now. I'm through about 2/3 of 4/5th hour for the grading. I know some people haven't posted their blog for this week, so that will mean some backtracking - that's okay.

You have been doing a great job on the blogs so far! There has been some really great analysis of concepts we've talked about - and some we haven't. :)

I have Pearl Jam on the computer (hey, don't knock it...Eddie Vedder is a genius...) and the dryer needs to be taken care of, so have a nice night. I'll finish these tomorrow and Tuesday (after all, it looks like we might get ANOTHER dump of snow...so who knows where we'll be on Tuesday?).

KM

Next up - more questions from comments!

All right - next!

Sam asked:
I didn't use an article for my blog entry. I wrote about relating the information to my life. I hope that's okay..
Perfect. :)

Taylor said:
I agree with Morgan on how car dealerships use incentives to their advantage. When my mom and I went to get my car I noticed how point 6 can be used to the dealers advantage. I test drove 3 or 4 cars and the dealer definetly put a lot of effort into trying to sell me a more expensive car because it had cool things a new teenage driver would want such as a sun roof or a new stereo system. It's definetly important not to show too much emotion when looking for a car, because dealers will definetly play off of that.
This is soooo true. I'm not sure how many of you have gone to purchase your own car - but the biggest advantage you can give the dealership is to look like you will not walk away from the deal. Remember that there's always another car right on the next lot. My husband and I found it really funny - to show him how cool the car was, the sales guy popped the hood and kicked the tires, etc. For me? Ooh, look, the mirrors move and look at all the radio controls on the steering wheel...

And from Vicky:
It's all about the information you have. When buying anything, you need to be an informed consumer. Don't expect the salespeople to educate you. It's your responsibility to educate yourself.
"Let the buyer beware" - caveat emptor. Great comment, Vicky. Should I be alarmed that you have owned more cell phones than I have, and I am twice your age? ;)

And David:
Acting on a whim, or executing some action solely on emotion, though it may be fulfilling at first, often times may leave regretting your quick decision. Like (almost) anything in life where emotion isn’t enough, a little bit of research, enough to acquaint oneself with the matters, will help.
My family makes fun of me constantly because of the time I'll take to make a decision on something big. In the last 5 months, we've had to buy a clothes dryer, a car and a new bed. Each got the same analysis from me. Yeah, I'm a sick person. But jeez...it's my money...why would I want to throw it away? If you can take the emotion out of the decision, get the research done, as David mentions here - it's rare for me to regret a purchase. I like that.

Wow, this turned into a good discussion on consumerism. Keep it in mind when we get further in this present unit. :)

From this, it’s obvious that the price displayed may not be the lowest price the dealers could sell, or even the actual worth of the car. (This is still David)
Excellent analysis on incentives, David! So true...especially with cars.


From Vicky:
Thanks, I was just wondering about the links!Can we do extra analysis blogs or comments for extra credit of some sort? Or would we just get brownie points for being overachievers?
You, an overachiever? Say it ain't so! lol
Let me think on this one.

From Brent ("Some Stuff For You" below):
The income effect states that when your income is fixed, as the price drops of a certain item, you can purchase more of that item with the same income. So the Demand curve is downward sloping because the quantity demand increases (x axis) as the price drops (y axis). The substitution effect describes the same thing but going in the opposite direction. When the prices increase, the quantity demanded of that good decreases, and people can purchase less. People will then find substitutes to that product and the product's price will continue to increase and people will be able to purchase less and less of the product.
EXCELLENT analysis and explanation of the income and substitution effects. If anyone isn't getting the difference, read through this again. And again. Great job!

Morgan let us know that:
I like grape jelly better than strawberry, just to let you know...
If those are my choices, me, too. Otherwise, I personally like Apple Pie jam. It's amazing.
And then Sam said:
Note to morgan: Raspberry jelly is so much better than grape and strawberry, just to let you know. =)
Raspberry jelly is good...but I stand by my choice. ;)

These threw some people off ("Supply & Equilibrium" below):
(1) Do these things affect the demand or supply of oil? (a) The Alaskan oil pipeline was completed. (S) (b) Price supports were removed from oil. (S) (c) Oil was discovered in the Bering Sea. (S) (d) Sport utility vehicles become more popular. (D) (e) The use of nuclear power declined. (D)

(3) Demand or supply of jeans? (a) A new technology becomes available that cuts the time to make jeans in half. (S) (b) The price of denim falls. (S) (c) Jeans go out of fashion. (D) (d) The price of a pair of jeans falls. (QD/S)(Look at the movement on the graph if both curves are present) (e) The wage rate paid to garment workers increases. (S) (f) People's income increases. (D)


Okay - I'm off to start on your blogs! It's 7:30 already, so don't pout if I don't get to you tonight. :)

See you tomorrow -

Some questions you guys had on posts...:

I'm trolling through blog comments and there were some questions that went neglected as I freaked out the last two weeks. :)

First, from Marty, regarding PPC's:
a) An increase in the average length of an average vacation would cause an underuse of resources (in response to Savannah's uncertainty, I think she's right about that...) To be completely honest, I'm not entirely sure what this would do to the PPC. I would assume it would cause it to shift inward, but I thought that the curve itself only shifted if something caused the amount of available resources to decrease. As far as I can ascertain, an increase in vacation time wouldn't so much decrease the amount of resources available, but just cause the underuse of them. I know this was marked as a point closer to the origin than any of the curves on the PPC graph we studied. Is that the same in this instance, too? It seems like it'd be more appropriate; the human resources are still there, they're just not being put to use...
There is a good argument for two possibilities here. The good news is that as long as you are able to justify your response, you'd be pretty safe with either. First, if the average vacation nationwide increased in length, the "correct" answer is that the curve would shift in. It's a loss of resources. BUT...it's entirely possible to view it as an underuse of resources (i.e., a point inside the curve), because it's plausible to use those resources (human resources) differently. With an explanation, either is perfectly acceptable. If it were a multiple choice, I would go with the curve shifting in.

From Erika, same post, about PPC's:
c)A decrease in the average retirement age would cause nothing if the same amount of people stayed in the work force. I'm confused about what this means, are you referring to more and more people dropping out of the production of goods? In which case the graph would be likely to curve inward? (not sure!)
The work force would mean a change in resources - with that, it's going to affect the curve. So yes, more people dropping out of the production, and yes, the curve shifts in. :)

From Josh, same post - and I'm so sorry I didn't see this before your test.
I am commenting on number 4 as well. Before i answer the question i had a question about the ppc. in our packet, most of the graphs show "consumer goods" as x axis and "capitol goods" as y axis. is this just an easy example to use or is this like the base model to think about when answering these questions?
It's just an example. Anything on the national exam will tell you what would be on each axis. The chances of it being a FRQ are pretty slim, but there will be m/c questions on PPC's. Hopefully that will help with retests, and I don't have to feel too guilty about missing it. :(

Tanvirkamal, same post -
EXCELLENT analysis on the MySpace and scarcity. Really a great way to view it.
Oh and this is going to a VERY fun semester, I will make sure of it, many of you know I can do that...
How fun...? lol

John mentioned (same post):
# 1) The author believes that the opportunity cost is that of short term loss of jobs within the United States. The author believes that the loss is being exaggerated and really should not be of conern to Americans but he also states that it should not go unnoticed. The author believes that the government should not adapt a policy of protectionism but rather let the economy be and have things take care of themselves through a competitive process between companies within the economy.
Get used to this way of thinking. :) We'll come back to it again...and again...and again. Great interpretation of the author.

Brent, same post, on outsourcing:
He says that the comparative advantage of trade by outsourcing will benefit the US economy in the future compared to the loss of the jobs in the short term. Personally, I think this author can write this so biasedly because he or no one else he knows has been affected by outsourcing.
One of the first rules is to take the emotion out of the analysis - which is really hard, especially if you've been affected by outsourcing. It's easy to say "Jobs in the US will be regained in other sectors", but the reality is, if you (or a friend/family member) is the one losing their job, it's different. Basic economic free market theory (which is what we have to look at in this class) will state that when trade is willing, it's good for all involved. Therefore, jobs that go overseas can be seen as opening our economy up to increase in other sectors - usually seen as higher level jobs in technology or services. It doesn't, though, look at how those people are supposed to make that shift from the GM factory in Janesville to some high-tech job. It's a tough one.
He doesn't see the individual when writing this article at all, how they can't pay their bills because they don't have a job, how they can't support their kids, how they get deeper into debt when they never should have been let go to begin with. So many corporations make so many horrible decisions, it just pisses me off!
You're right - it's not about the individual for the author. The corporate edicts have changed in the last 50 years or so. Just as the American worker is no longer concerned with company loyalty, the company is no longer concerned with keeping their workers happy. It's really changed how business is done in our country. Is there an answer? Well...I'm not sure. The bottom line for businesses is that their costs are lower and profits rise. Yes, there are businesses that will take other things into account, but that number is lower than it has been in the past.


Okay - that's the comments from the PPC post (the one entitled "Friday" below). I'll hit more later. :)

Quizzes -

Here are the things people are most getting mixed up on during the quizzes (wow, what a great sentence):

1. The Laws of Supply & Demand - you MUST put price first. It's a word explanation of the slope of the supply or demand curve. You cannot put a change in demand/supply first, because then it's not true. So - Law of Demand states that as price rises, QD decreases (as price goes up, people buy less) - and vice versa. Law of Supply states that as price rises, QS increases (as price goes up, suppliers want to supply more). It is incorrect to state that as supply increases, price increases = that's not the law of supply, and it's not true. When supply increases, it causes the equilibrium price to decrease (when the curve shifts along the demand curve). However you need to learn this...do so. Stare at this. Go back and look at the animated file in previous postings. Staple a sheet of paper to your head. Tattoo it on your neck. Whatever. You must know this. I promise - if you state something other than "people buy more when price is low" on the national exam, it will be wrong. Same with confusing QD and D/QS and S.

2. Determinants of S or D. Know these.

That's really what's hurting most people. I'm getting a good grasp of who's understanding, who's mostly understanding, and who's lost. There are 2 in 4/5 and 4 in 7/8 that are lost. You have choices - make the correct economic decision for you: study more, see me so we can get you on track, or drop to regular. Seriously...this is easy stuff compared to what we're going to be getting in to. I will do all I can for students who are willing to work at it...if you sit there and don't study, I have no time to do it for you.

What a terrible way to end a post. The good thing is that there's no extra homework this weekend - look at it, see what you can do, if you're confused, stop and we'll be going over elasticity on Monday. Blogs: you should have a post on yours with analysis (shouldn't be tough to find a S & D article that is analysis-worthy), plus two comments - here or on someone else's blog. I will be grading this weekend. Promise.

KM

Elasticity

Hey there -

Some stuff to start elasticity - we'll be going over it in class on Monday, but if you're able to look stuff over this weekend, it could give you a headstart.

http://apecon.us/tanstaafl_files/ Elasticity video - it's 38 minutes long, just a warning. :)

Elasticity animated gif file: http://www.reffonomics.com/elasticity1.html

Work Day

Well, Tuesday will be time for you to practice with S & D. You know where the answer book is if you want to see if you're heading in the right direction.

Remember - the important part is to look at what the first change would be. Don't overthink.

A link:

http://www.reffonomics.com/supplydemandindifferent.html

Also, look over your test by Wed - if you have any questions, we'll go over it then.

See ya -

Jobs...just because 4/5th hour asked... :)

Okay - the list of jobs, just because 4/5 really wanted to know. :)


1. Ben Franklin Crafts (Oconomowoc)
2. Factory – M-16 rifle magazines
3. Picture Framing Store
4. Housekeeping – Retirement Home
5. Waitress – Country Kitchen
6. Waitress – Bowling Alley
7. Bartender – Bowling Alley
8. Housekeeping – 40 Winks Inn
9. Minnesota Fabrics (2 years – a new record)
10. Custom Clothier (the 1st time)
11. Deli Counter – Pick n’ Save
12. Substitute Teacher – Arrowhead
13. Substitute Teacher – Kettle Moraine
14. Substitute Teacher – Watertown
15. Waitress – Chuck’s Supper Club
16. Teacher! South Texas ISD/Science Academy (4 years! A
newer new record!)
17. Bartender – Juan O’Leary’s
18. Sales – Watkins products
19. Temp agency (about a month)
20. Paper plate factory (5 days)
21. Kmart – cashier, dept manager (the only job from which
I’ve ever been fired)
22. Waitress – Chancery
23. Teacher - Rogers Memorial Hospital (psych hospital) – long term
care adolescents
24. Teacher – Kettle Moraine (one semester)
25. Teacher – Fort Atkinson! (so far, the newest new record –
6 years and counting!)
26. Freelance Economic Education Consultant (& writing)
27. Custom Clothier (the second time)
28. Social Studies & Economics Consultant for the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction

Supply & Equilibrium

Just one animated gif file on this one:

http://www.reffonomics.com/determinatesofsupply.html


Some questions to think about:

(1) Do these things affect the demand or supply of oil? (a) The Alaskan oil pipeline was completed. (b) Price supports were removed from oil. (c) Oil was discovered in the Bering Sea. (d) Sport utility vehicles become more popular. (e) The use of nuclear power declined.

(2) Why is it more expensive to ski in Aspen in January than in April?

(3) Demand or supply of jeans? (a) A new technology becomes available that cuts the time to make jeans in half. (b) The price of denim falls. (c) Jeans go out of fashion. (d) The price of a pair of jeans falls. (e) The wage rate paid to garment workers increases. (f) People's income increases.