Assignment 2: Important concepts in Economics 24 points. Keep your answers short.
1. Read the articles “A Battle in Mining Country Pits Coal Against Wind”, “Despite
Costs, ‘Clean Coal’ Remains Obama Priority” and (optional) “Cleansing the Air
at the Expense of Waterways”. What are the micro and macro opportunity costs of
‘clean’ coal? (7.5 pts.)
2. Read the article “Rich Man’s Burden”. Use marginal analysis to argue that rich
people should work less than the poor, and opportunity cost to argue that they
should work more. (7.5 pts.)
3. Read the article “New Rules Issued on Coal Air Pollution”. According to the
article, what are the costs of new rules on coal air pollution. What are the
benefits? Do you think it is appropriate to measure both costs and benefits in
dollars? (7.5 pts.)
4. Explain how the preanalytic vision of ecological economics leads to the
conclusion that macro-opportunity costs are inevitable. (7.5 pts.)