A P Economics Summer Assignment – 2014
Mrs. Brewer jbrewer@aacps.org
Course Overview
A P Economics is essentially two college-level courses designed to prepare you to take
two A P exams in May of next year. The first of these two courses, Microeconomics,
examines the behaviors of firms and individuals within an economic system and how
they interact. The second course, Macroeconomics, examines economy wide
phenomena, including inflation, unemployment, and economic growth. By taking this
course and mastering the material you will find yourself more prepared to meet the
challenges of the 21st century and have success in the global marketplace.
Summer Assignment
The summer assignment is in two parts. The first is the
Current Events Assignment
Current events are a crucial component of any economics course curriculum. It is
important that you begin exploring the world around you and assessing the impact of
economic events on your life. The more educated you are the better you can understand
the decisions of individuals, businesses and governments.
Your assignment is as follows:
1. Select one economic topic from the following list. You will use this same topic for
the duration of the summer. Suggested news publications will be listed at the end
of the assignment. Sources may be websites or actual newspapers or magazines.
a. Recession
b. Unemployment
c. Business decisions
d. Prices
e. Inflation
f. Environmental disasters
g. Government intervention in the economy
2. Starting with the week after school ends, find an article in a reputable publication
every other week and complete the following tasks:
a. Fully cite the article (like in a Works Cited page or you may print it out)
b. Answer the following questions:
1. Who is being affected?
2. What, if any, action is being taken to correct the situation?
Current Event Assignment Grading
There is no set length for this part of the assignment. You are expected to have five
articles spread out over the summer with approximately two weeks between each
article. It is preferred that this assignment be typed in a normal font and size. This part
of the assignment is worth 30 points.
There are many sources which you can search to find articles. Most newspapers have
articles on a daily basis and can be found on the Internet – examples include New York
Times online, Wall Street Journal online, Washington Post online, Baltimore Sun online,
etc. There are also many magazines which deal with economic issues including Time, U
S News and World Report, The Economist, Inc and many others. Most of these
magazines have online sites as well. Public libraries subscribe to many of these
magazines and have copiers with which to make copies of the article
Book Assignment
You are to read Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner.
This book is fairly easy to obtain. It is certainly available in local public libraries and in
local bookstores. Serviceable used copies can be purchased from Amazon.com as well
as new copies which are cheaper than those in the bookstores.
You are to read the main section of the book – Introduction to Epilog. Some editions
have additional materials that are not required (but you are certainly welcome to read
them).
As you read the book, answer the following questions, referencing the text. Your
answers should be typed in a normal font and size and double-spaced. Answer in
complete sentences.
1. What are incentives? How do incentives influence the decision-making process?
(Chapter 1)
2. Why did the concept of incentives break down in the case of the Israeli day care?
Provide a real world example of a moral incentive. (Chapter 1)
3. Why might I, as your A P Economics teacher, have an incentive to help you get a 5
on the A P exam? Do we have the same incentive for your success? Does the fact
that we do (or do not) have the same incentive matter? (Chapter 1)
4. Define information asymmetry. Provide examples from the text as well as an
additional real world example. (Chapter 2)
5. How does the element of fear make the problem of information asymmetry even
worse? (Chapter 2)
6. How has the growth of the Internet changed information asymmetry? (Chapter 2)
7. Do you buy Levitt and Dubner’s claim that conventional wisdom is often wrong?
What is the role of conventional wisdom in society? (Chapter 3)
8. Were you surprised by how similar the Black Disciples organizational structure was
to corporations like McDonalds? Why do you think people perceive drug dealers as
well off financially? (Chapter 3)
9. Compare and contrast the authors’ explanation of the drop in crime in the 1990s
and that of other “experts”. (Chapter 4)
10.
What is the difference between correlation and causality? Define both terms
and include examples from the reading. (Chapter 4)
11.
Do you buy Levitt and Dubner’s argument that the drop in crime in the
1990s was the result of Roe v. Wade? What are the strengths and weaknesses of
their argument? (Chapter 4)
12.
What is the difference between normative and positive analysis? What can
you learn about the utility of this distinction from this chapter on perfect
parenting? (Chapter 5)
13.
Do you agree that there is little parents can do to influence whether their
children are successful? Do names matter? (Chapters 5 & 6)
14.
Freakonomics argues that morality represents the way we would like the
world to work whereas economics can show how the world really does work. Do
you agree or disagree?
15.
Most people think of economics as a dry subject matter concerning monetary
and fiscal matters. How does Freakonomics change this definition?