G12 - Week 7 - Day 3

In-class

1. Presentations - Degrees of economic integration research project

At-home

1. HL Only - Terms of Trade - part 1

G11 - Week 7 - Day 2

In-class work

1. News presentations
2. Video questions?
1. Income Elasticity of Demand
3. Exercises 14-16

4. Applications of Elasticity (PED, XED and YED)

5. Feedly - read news and/or look for examples related to PED/XED/YED

At-home work

1. Price Elasticity of Supply and its Determinants

G12 - Week 7 - Day 2

In-class

1. Ch. 24 learning outcome quiz
2. News presentation
3. Degrees of economic integration research project

At-home

1. Make sure your presentation is done for Friday

G11 - Week 7 - Day 1

In-class work

1. News presentations
2. Video questions?
1. Cross Price Elasticity of Demand and its Determinants
3. Exercises 8-13
4. Feedly - read news and/or look for examples related to PED/XED

At-home work

1. Income Elasticity of Demand

G12 - Week 7 - Day 1

In-class

1. Ch. 23 vocabulary and learning outcome quiz
2. News presentation
3. Degrees of economic integration research project

At-home

1. Ch. 24 learning outcome quiz

G11 - Week 7 - Day 3

In-class work

1. Indirect taxes' Effect on Supply - part 2
1. Exercises 1-2 on page 99
1. Exercises 3-7 on page 103-104 (HL Only)
2. Calculating the Effects of a Specific, Indirect Tax (HL Only)
1. Exercises 8-18 on page 107
3. The Effects of a Per Unit Subsidy
1. Exercises 19-23 on page 109
4. Calculating the Effects of a Subsidy using Linear Equations (HL Only)
1. Exercises 24-34 on page 112
5. Determining the Effects of Price Ceilings and Price Floors
6. Calculating the Effects of Price Controls using Linear Equations (HL Only)
1. Exercises 34-46

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From the blogosphere

1. Economic Question of the Day
2. Trump Plans Quote of the Day
3. Immigration and the  experts

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Currently Reading

The Fourth Industrial Revolution

The first industrial revolution spanned from about 1760 to around 1840. Triggered by the construction of railroads and the invention of the steam engine, it ushered in mechanical production. The second industrial revolution, which started in the late 19th century and into the early 20th century, made mass production possible, fostered by the advent of electricity and the assembly line. The third industrial revolution began in the 1960s. It is usually called the computer or digital revolution because it was catalysed by the development of semiconductors, mainframe computing (1960s), personal computing (1970s and 80s) and the internet (1990s). 

Mindful of the various definitions and academic arguments used to describe the first three industrial revolutions, I believe that today we are at the beginning of a fourth industrial revolution. It began at the turn of this century and builds on the digital revolution. It is characterized by a much more ubiquitous and mobile internet, by smaller and more powerful sensors that have become cheaper, and by artificial intelligence and machine learning. 

Digital technologies that have computer hardware, software and networks at their core are not new, but in a break with the third industrial revolution, they are becoming more sophisticated and integrated and are, as a result, transforming societies and the global economy. This is the reason why Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Professors Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee have famously referred to this period as “the second machine age” 2, the title of their 2014 book, stating that the world is at an inflection point where the effect of these digital technologies will manifest with “full force” through automation and and the making of “unprecedented things”.

Schwab, Klaus. The Fourth Industrial Revolution (Kindle Locations 113-127). World Economic Forum. Kindle Edition. 

G11 - Week 7 - Day 2

In-class work

1. Peer review and mark ch. 3-4 assessments
2. Indirect taxes' Effect on Supply - part 1
3. The Effects of an Excise Tax - Elastic Demand  (HL Only)
4. The Effects of an Excise Tax - Inelastic Demand (HL Only)
1. Exercises 3-7 on page 103-104

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From the blogosphere

1. Presidential Candidate Plans for Achieving American Prosperity
2. What are the world’s biggest problems?

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Currently Reading

Education for Sustainable Happiness and Well-being

Countless agencies, governments, and organizations have been dedicated to meeting even the most foundational schooling needs for children, and yet, as the United Nations Education, Scientific, and Culture Organization (UNESCO) reported in 2015, key global Education for All (EFA) goals that governments agreed to at the World Education Forum in Dakar in 2000 have not been attained, though some important headway has been made: 

There has been tremendous progress across the world since 2000— but we are not there yet. Despite all efforts by governments, civil society and the international community, the world has not achieved Education for All. 

On the positive side, the number of children and adolescents who were out of school has fallen by almost half since 2000. An estimated 34 million more children will have attended school as a result of faster progress since Dakar. The greatest progress has been achieved in gender parity, particularly in primary education, although gender disparity remains in almost a third of the countries with data. Governments have also increased efforts to measure learning outcomes through national and international assessments, using these to ensure that all children receive the quality of education they were promised. 

And yet, for all this progress, 15 years of monitoring shows sobering results. 

There are still 58 million children out of school globally and around 100 million children who do not complete primary education. Inequality in education has increased, with the poorest and most disadvantaged shouldering the heaviest burden. The world’s poorest children are four times more likely not to go to school than the world’s richest children, and five times more likely not to complete primary school. Conflict remains a steep barrier, with a high and growing proportion of out-of-school children living in conflict zones. Overall, the poor quality of learning at primary level still has millions of children leaving school without basic skills. (UNESCO 2015, p. i)

O'Brien, Catherine. Education for Sustainable Happiness and Well-Being (pp. 205-206). Taylor and Francis. Kindle Edition. 

G11 - Week 7 - Day 1

In-class work

1. Work on ch. 3-4 commentary assessment
2. Hand in hardcopy by end of class

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From the blogosphere

1. Firms that Discriminate are More Likely to Go Bust
2. Is Sustained 4 Percent Annual Real Growth Achievable?
1. “As we noted in our 16 Myths document, the last time the U.S. had 4 percent growth on average for 25 years was 1940-1964. And in the modern context with an aging population and a large percentage of women now already in the labor force, pursuing a number of pro-growth policies mentioned would only achieve about 3 percent real growth at best over the long run. Therefore, it would be very difficult to achieve sustained 4 percent annual real GDP growth.”
3. These charts prove that the world is getting dramatically better, not worse

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Currently Reading

Education for Sustainable Happiness and Well-being

EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABILITY  

Education for sustainability is more than just a new curriculum. It is about how the content and process of education can be interwoven with real-life contexts to create opportunities for young people to take the lead in building sustainable communities and societies. Peter Senge (2014, p. 325) 

Peter Senge (2014) recounts the story of 12-year-old Analise during a student presentation evening. There were 250 people gathered to hear about the students’ sustainability projects. Analise represented her group and briefly described the wind turbine project that she and her peers had created at their middle school. Installing the wind turbine had involved many of the steps that Zhao (2012) outlined in product-oriented learning, including a presentation to the principal and the town’s mayor, as well as garnering expertise from parents to explore engineering and investment options. The scope of the project itself is impressive. Even more impressive is her wisdom and courage to challenge the adult audience. Senge tells us that once her presentation was finished,  

Analise set aside her notes and standing calmly, some 75 pounds of fierce determination said, “We children are often hearing that ‘you children are the future.’ We don’t agree with that. We don’t have that much time. We need to make changes now. We kids are ready, are you?” (Senge, 2014, p. 328)  

Analise is absolutely right. We need to make changes now. Muddling along with small revisions to curricula here and there is drastically out of step with the pressing need for educators to demonstrate greater leadership in sustainability education. (p. 85)