Help For Your Introductory Economics Course

Another big week on deck in ECO-201.  Here is your list of resources to help get you through it! Milestone Three Resources: How to Write an Exemplary “Costs of Production” section (sample paper included) ***Make sure to use the link to the Excel Spreadsheet that can be found in the General Questions Discussion Board or in the Announcements*** Finding Market Share Data for Your Firm How to Write an Exemplary “Overall Market” section (sample paper included) Determining Market Structure for Milestone 3 Using the Four Firm Concentration Ratio to Determine Market Structure (flow chart included) How to Write an Exemplary “Recommendation” section Tips on Milestones Two and Three: Help With Using Financial Statements Milestone Three Guidelines and Rubric Milestone Three video The ECO YouTube Channel for recordings of webinars in previous terms How to Find What You Need from the Library for your Research Paper

It’s a really big week in ECO-201.  Have no fear, your resources for survival are here… Milestone Two Resources: How to use the spreadsheet to create a graph for the supply and demand section ***Use the link in the announcements of Brightspace or the General Questions Discussion Board to access the Excel spreadsheet that will help you create your required graphical representation of data*** Milestone Two Tips: How to Write an Exemplary Section on Supply and Demand (Example Included) Milestone Two Tips: Writing an Exemplary Section on Elasticity of Demand Milestone Two Tips on Critical Element “Price Elasticity of Demand: Pricing Decisions” Tips on Milestones Two and Three: Help With Using Financial Statements Milestone Two Tips to Get Started with Writing About Demand Milestone Two Tips to Get Started with Writing About Supply Milestone Two Rubric Milestone Two Video APA guidelines Historical Webinars on the  ECO YouTube Channel Homework 4 Resources: Sample Problem: Economic P...

Price elasticity of demand is one of the most difficult concepts in microeconomics making this week feel more challenging than usual for many students.  Here are some resources to help you navigate week 3: Check this video out for an explanation of the 3 rd discussion to help avoid the commonly made mistakes! Other helpful resources on price elasticity of demand. Price Elasticity of Demand Video Price Elasticity of Gasoline Example Elasticity of Demand Explained Khan Academy Videos on Price Elasticity of Demand Mr. Clifford’s Explanation of PED and TR Test Helpful resources for Homework 3: Sample Problem: Substitutes Price Elasticity of Demand Sample Problems Thinking ahead to milestone two…this is a big assignment and it will serve you well if you can get an early start on it: Milestone Two Tips to Get Started with Writing About Demand Milestone Two Tips to Get Started with Writing About Supply Milestone Two Tips: How to Write an Exemplary Section on Supply and Demand (Example I...

Week 2 is when the pace begins to pick up for this course.  Fortunately, there are a lot of resources available to help out and get you started! For assistance with Milestone One: Milestone One Tips on the Introduction Video Milestone One Tips on the History & Overview Video Microeconomics of Expedia Introduction Video Expedia History and Overview video Milestone One Sample Paper (Expedia) Milestone One Tips and Examples Final Project Guidelines and Rubric Listen to historical webinar recordings on the ECO YouTube Channel SNHU writing center For additional help with APA formatting: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/ Additional Library resource databases containing company information, background and history, financial statements, SEC reports, SWOT analyses, scholarly journal, trade publication, magazine, and newspaper articles (including the Wall Street Journal), and market reports, can be found on the Library’s Company Information research guide: http://libguid...

To help you navigate week 1 I have complied a list of extra resources for you to peruse for week 1 or ECO-201. For assistance with the first discussion assignment: Video Introducing Discussion 1 Opportunity Cost Clip on YouTube Opportunity Cost Overview Opportunity Cost – And Pretty Little Mistakes For assistance with the first homework assignment (found within MyEconLab): YouTube Clip Introduction to the Production Possibilities Frontier PPF Sample Problem Opportunity Cost Sample Problem For help with selecting a firm for your final project (this same firm will be used for all milestone assignments): use these guidelines

Here is one more milestone three tip that I’d like to share in order to help you determine the market structure of your industry. Perfect Competition and Monopoly markets are very rare, so it is most likely that your firm operates in a monopolistically competitive industry or in an oligopolistic industry. How do you figure out which market fits your firm’s industry? A great way to do this is by utilizing the four firm concentration ratio. Suppose that the distribution of sales in an industry is as shown in the chart below (market share). You should have already found the market share data for your industry in a previous critical element, but if you are working out of order or skipped over that element, here are some tips on how to find the market share for your industry. What is the four-firm concentration ratio for this industry? To find this, we add up the market share percentage for the top 4 firms. Four firm concentration ratio = 20% + 18% + 12% + 10% = 60% If the top four firms m...

Melanie is a hairdresser and is able to provide haircuts for 8 people each day at a total cost of $50. If Melanie performed 9 haircuts it would cost her $60. What is the marginal cost of providing the 9 th haircut? To solve this problem, we first need to understand what marginal cost is and then figure out how to calculate it. Marginal cost is the additional cost to a firm of producing one more unit of a good or service. In this case, the problem is asking for the marginal cost of going from 8 haircuts to 9 haircuts. To calculate the marginal cost you take the cost of 9 haircuts and subtract the cost of providing 8 haircuts. $60 - $50 = $10. The marginal cost of providing the 9 th haircut is $10.

Kirsten is earning $40,000 per year as a stylist in Sally’s Salon. She has worked hard to save $60,000 and is currently earning 5% annual interest on her savings account. She decides to quit her job at Sally’s Salon and uses her savings to open her own hair salon. In the first year of ownership, her salon earns revenues of $200,000 and has explicit costs of $157,000. What is Kirsten’s profit (or loss) in the first year? Economic profit is the total revenues minus total opportunity costs of all inputs used, or the total of all implicit and explicit costs. For this example we know the following for the first year: Revenue = $200,000 Explicit costs = $157,000 The implicit costs include Kirsten’s foregone salary from giving up her previous job of $40,000 for the year and lost interest from invested savings ($60,000 saved * 5% annual interest so the interest forgone for the year is $3,000) Economic profit = Revenues – explicit costs – implicit costs Economic profit = $200,000 – 157,000 – 40...

Price Elasticity of Demand Sample Problem #1: When Hank’s Hamburger Stand priced its signature burger at $7, they sold 500 burgers per week. When they raised the price to $8, they sold 450 burgers per week. Based on this information, calculate the price elasticity of demand for hamburgers. The price elasticity of demand = percentage change in quantity demanded / percentage change in price Start by calculating the % change in quantity demanded = change in quantity / (sum of quantities / 2), and then multiply 100 to put in % form % change in quantity demanded = (500 – 450) / ((500 + 450) /2) = 50 / (950 / 2) = 50 / 475 = .1053 .1053 X 100 = 10.53% is the change in quantity demanded Next calculate the percentage change in price = change in price / (sum of prices / 2), then multiply by 100 to put it in % form (7 – 8) / ((7 + 8)/2) = -1 / (15/2) = -1/7.5 = -.1333 -.1333 X 100 = -13.33% is the change in price Finally, calculate the elasticity of demand. The price elasticity of demand = perce...

All of the following pairs of goods are substitutes except -We observe the price of soda decreases and the demand for iced tea decreases. -We observe the price of steak increases and the demand for chicken increases. -We observe the price of bicycles increases and the demand for helmets decreases. To find the answer to this question, we must first know that two goods are substitutes when a change in the price of one causes a shift in demand for the other in the same direction as the price change. When the price of soda decreases the demand for iced tea decreases. These goods are substitutes because the demand for ice tea is moving in the same direction (decreasing) as the price of soda. Intuitively this makes sense because you’ll choose to drink one or the other with your meal – probably not both! When the price of steak increases the demand for chicken increases. Again, these goods are substitutes because the demand for chicken is moving in the same direction (increasing) as the price...

Milestone One: Expedia Example.  For the accompanying video that explains this paper, please view on YouTube here and here . Microeconomic Analysis of Expedia Expedia Group is off to an excellent start in 2018. Reports from the first quarter show year-over-year growth rates of 15% in revenue, gross bookings, and room nights (Investors Overview, n.d.). As a consultant hired by Expedia Group I will be analyzing market and business data in order to make recommendations to ensure Expedia’s future success and sustainability in the market. This paper will provide a brief overview of the firm before diving into Expedia’s demand trends over the last 5 years, supply and demand conditions, and the price elasticity of demand for their products. A discussion of the costs of production will follow with an in depth look at variable costs, fixed costs, and the impact to profitability. The overall market section will include a discussion of the market share, barriers to entry, and market structur...

One of the critical elements covered in the material this week is to analyze information and data related to the demand and supply for your firm’s product(s) to support your recommendation for the firm’s actions . You will include a graphical representation of the data and information used in your analysis . In a previous post I discussed the different aspects of demand that you could cover in your paper. You’ll want to think in terms of the factors mentioned that can impact demand for your firm (income, prices of related goods, tastes, population, demographics, and expected future prices) and make recommendations to the firm based on what you know from that research. This post will focus on how to analyze supply in this post since we haven’t covered that in detail yet and provide some ideas of concepts related to supply that could be applied to your firm. You don’t need to discuss everything I cover in this post; this is just to provide some ideas to help you get started on your rese...

One of the critical elements covered in the material this week is to evaluate the trends in demand over time and explain their impact on the industry and on the firm . But how do you evaluate the trends in demand over time and explain their impact on the industry and the firm? Here are some ideas of concepts that could be applied to your firm to help you evaluate the trends in demand. You don’t need to discuss everything I cover in this post; this is just to provide some ideas to help you get started on your research! Market demand is the demand by all the consumers of a given good or service. Find out who your customers are and provide detail on them. Use annual sales data to find out how much of the product is purchased. You should have received the Supply and Demand Help Excel Spreadsheet via email that will help you walk through the process of gathering and analyzing data. The main question to ask yourself as you analyze the data is: how has the annual sales data changed over time?...

Part I: Critical Element “Purpose” In order to receive a score of proficient (100%) on Milestone One you’ll need to outline the purpose of your paper and state how it will inform the conclusion. The best way to do this is to view the Final Project Guidelines and Rubric , paying particular attention to the Prompt and Critical Elements that will be addressed in your paper. When you turn in your final paper, in order to earn a score of exemplary (100%) you’ll also need to use industry-specific language to establish expertise. I recommend trying to write Milestone One as if it were your final paper, so that you can benefit from the feedback before your final paper is due. Below is an example of an introduction that would receive an exemplary score for The Hershey Company. Please keep in mind the following points as you work on your introduction: -The text in italics indicates where the purpose of the paper is outlined. -The underlined text indicates how the conclusion will be informed....

This course was recently redesigned, but there used to be a discussion board topic each week in ECO-201. I thought some of you might benefit from seeing the discussion board topic that was previously used in this module. Below is the discussion board topic for week 2, which is followed up with an explanation. How often are you able to buy a ticket to the Super Bowl at face value? Consider the prices you would pay online or through a ticket scalper. How can the laws of supply and demand be used to explain this situation? How is the market for Super Bowl tickets different than other goods and services we purchase? What role do ticket scalpers play in this process? First let’s quickly define the following terms: Law of supply : The rule that, holding all else constant, increases in the price cause increases in the quantity supplied, and decreases in price cause decreases in the quantity supplied. Law of demand : The rule that, holding everything else constant, when the price of a product ...

Assume the world market for bananas is competitive and that the marginal cost of producing a case of bananas is $12.50 and the marginal benefit is $15. If one more case of bananas is produced and consumed, how will the economic surplus change? To answer this question, let’s first discuss what we mean by economic surplus. Economic surplus is the sum of consumer surplus and producer surplus. Consumer surplus is the difference between the highest price a consumer is willing to pay for a good or service and the actual price the consumer pays. In other words, consumer surplus measures the benefit to consumers. Producer surplus is the difference between the lowest price a firm would be willing to accept for a good or service and the price it actually receives. This means that producer surplus measures the benefit to producers from participating in a market (in this case, the market for bananas). This question also mentions a few other terms we need to understand. The marginal benefit is the ...

If you have not yet selected a firm for your final paper, these companies have proven successful for this assignment by previous students and all on this list are publicly traded, US-based companies. Their products and markets are easy to identify and analyze with the microeconomic tools developed in this course. If you would like to choose a company not on this list, please work with me to make sure it’s a good fit for the assignment. List of Pre-Approved Companies to use for your ECO-201 Final Paper 1. Starbucks 2. Nike 3. Southwest Airlines 4. Netflix 5. Ford 6. GM 7. Under Armour 8. Chipotle 9. American Outdoor Brands (formerly Smith and Wesson) 10. Coca Cola 11. Whole Foods 12. Boston Beer Company (Samuel Adams) 13. Anheuser-Busch 14. First Solar 15. Tesla 16. Wendy’s 17. McDonalds 18. Harley Davidson 19. Campbells 20. UPS 21. Goodyear 22. Hasbro 23. EA If any of these options interest you, then you can go ahead and email your selection to me and get start...

Which of the following would cause an increase in the demand for apples? Choice A: A decrease in consumer incomes (apples are a normal good). Choice B: A decrease in the price of apples. Choice C: An increase in the number of firms in the market. Choice D: An increase in the price of pears, a substitute for apples. Choice A is incorrect because a decrease in consumer incomes should cause a decrease in demand for apples, given that apples are a normal good. Choice A would be true if apples were an inferior good, meaning that when people have less money they buy more apples rather than some preferred alternative, which would increase demand for apples. Choice B is incorrect because a decrease in price of apples would be a movement along the demand curve, increasing the quantity demanded, but not increasing demand. The demand curve does not shift when the price changes, because the demand curve already is a representation of the quantity demanded at each price point. Choice C is incorrect...

Assume that the weather in Florida is exceptionally cold this year and has damaged the citrus crops, raising the costs for the companies that use a lot of oranges to produce orange juice. Indicate which of the following statements describing the resulting effects in the market for orange juice are true of false. #1. The demand for orange juice decreases. #2. The quantity of orange juice demanded decreases. #3. The supply of orange juice decreases. #4. The quantity of orange juice supplied decreases. When faced with a question like this, the first thing to determine is whether this problem deals with a change in supply or a change in demand. In this problem we are discussing the costs of production for orange juice producers. We don’t see any information mentioned about the consumers who purchase orange juice. This tells us two things: a change in the production costs leads to a shift in the supply curve , but the habits of consumers have not changed so there is no shift in the de...

The table below shows the demand schedule for four different types of consumers. There are 20,000 consumers total, and they are divided evenly through types A-D. What is the quantity demanded at a price of $10 for this good? To solve this problem, we first need to know how many consumers are in each group. Since there are 20,000 consumers total, and they are evenly divided between groups, there are 20,000 divided by 4 consumer types, which means there are 5000 consumers for each customer type. Moving on, we need to find out what the quantity demanded is at the market price of $10. How do we find that? First we look to the chart above and locate the line that has a market price of $10. Looking horizontally, we can see that at a price of $10, people who are type A will want to purchase 4 units each. We also must remember that there are 5000 people that are classified as type A. To calculate the quantity demanded we need to multiply the number of units demanded by the number of people dem...