EC202 MICROECONOMICS
End of Semester Project
Due Wednesday, May 2, 2102
The project will consist of two parts:
(a) a three-page essay and
(b) (b) a five to ten minute informal discussion.
Guideline: You have picked one of five available topics. Review a chapter in your textbook that corresponds to the topic you
have chosen. You are assigned to watch, review, and critique a documentary film related to the topic. You are also required
to include at least one additional source for your research on the topic. Be sure to give due credit for other people’s
published ideas. Follow the APA citation guidelines; use standard 1-inch margins and standard 10 to 12 size font. Your report
should be between two to three pages long. This is an individual project. In your paper and discussion, you should start by
sharing what you learned from the chapter and video and then continue by reflecting upon the overarching question over the
topic (listed below). Lastly, each of you is assigned a specific sub-topic to research and discuss.
Chapter 15: Natural Resource and Energy Economics
Videos to consider:
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PBS Frontline: Heat [streaming on Netflix; http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/heat]
Fuel [streaming on Netflix; http://documentaryparadise.com/environment-documentaries/fuel]
Energy War [http://documentaryparadise.com/economics-documentaries/energy-war]
Blue Gold: World Water Wars [streaming on Netflix]
Flow: For the Love of Water [streaming on Netflix; http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/flow-for-love-of-water/]
Main question:
Is the current U.S. consumption rate of energy and natural resources sustainable? What can we do about it?
Students & assigned subtopic:
Brune
Castellano
Marchesi
Peter
Ellen
Nick
Fossil fuel: extraction, production, and consumption
Renewable and alternative energy
Water as a valuable resource: potential crisis
Chapter 19: Agriculture Economics
Videos to consider:
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Ingredients (streaming on Netflix) [http://www.ingredientsfilm.com]
King Corn (streaming on Netflix) [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDurZc5Yr6c]
Food, Inc. (streaming on Netflix) [http://www.foodincmovie.com]
Main question:
Is the current way (and rate) U.S. food production and consumption sustainable? What can we do about it?
Students & assigned subtopic:
Acevedo
Barrett
Gartin
Lucy
Callee
Hannah
Factory farms (i.e., mass production of food)
The effect of government subsidies (I recommend watching King Corn)
Overproduction/waste in one part of the world, shortages in other
Chapter 20: Income Inequality
Videos to consider:
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The End of Poverty? (streaming on Netflix) [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pktOXJr1vOQ]
Maxed Out (streaming on Netflix) [http://documentaryparadise.com/economics-documentaries/maxed-out]
Fault lines [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdVODFombco]
Main question:
What are some of the causes and consequences of the growing income inequality (in the U.S. or globally)?
Students & assigned subtopic:
Byers
Greenwald
Milner
Roberts
Kelsey
Katherine
Lauren
Matt
Uneven distribution of income
Poverty and social immobility
Redistribution of income and government programs
Socio-economic discrimination
Chapter 21: Health Care
Videos to consider:
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Sick Around America [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/sickaroundamerica/view]
Sick Around the World [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/sickaroundtheworld/view]
Sicko [http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/sicko]
What Now Mr. President? (watch all three parts [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rD65UKgB6hU]
Main question:
What are some of the biggest issues in terms of the cost and access of health care in the U.S.?
Students & assigned subtopic:
Albert
Drago
Herr
Jackson
Nadia
Ryan
Jordan
Jane
Does high spending = high quality care?
Causes and consequences of rapid increase in costs
The role of health insurance companies
Health care reform: will it work?
Chapter 22: Immigration
Videos to consider:
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The Other Side of Immigration (streaming on Netflix)
The End of Poverty? [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pktOXJr1vOQ]
A Class Apart [http://video.pbs.org/video/1456689868]
Rain in a Dry Land [http://video.pbs.org/video/1513336151]
Main question:
What are some of the causes and consequences of immigration to the U.S.? What can be done about illegal
immigration?
Students & assigned subtopic:
Boehne
Bublitz
Lovell
Pirotte
Brennan
Hayley
Kayli
Alex
Immigration and income inequality
Does immigration lower wages and take away jobs from Americans?
Border wars: necessity and cost of keeping the border safe
Immigration reform: what’s being proposed?