DMSQF ECO2101 Microeconomics

CA1 Individual Project - Instructions for Students

January 2025 Semester

CA1 Individual Project Assessment

This CA1 constitutes 30% of the overall ECO2101 Microeconomics course assessment.

Rationale of Individual Project

This individual project allows you to pursue authentic learning and to apply theories taught in class to real world situations. This encourages independence and self-confidence as well as developing one’s thinking and analytical skills when working through real world situations.

Choosing Product Market for Analysis

This project involves choosing product(s) for your project analysis, using microeconomics concepts discussed in Lectures 1 to 5.

The product or service market can be either general or specific, local or international.

Some examples of product or service market:

•    Smartphones (general)

•    Apple iphone (specific brand in the smartphone market)

•    Starbuck Coffee in China (local, specific to a country)

•    Coffee (international)

Choosing Articles as References for Analysis

Search through newspapers sources (other sources are strictly not permitted), either in print or online for THREE (3) articles based on the product market you have chosen. Articles should contain real world  situations  and  should  be  in  English.  Articles  that  contain  analysis  or  researched  by others should not be used. The articles must be related to the concepts discussed in Lectures 1 to 5.

Articles must be dated from 1st November 2024 onwards.

The articles are to be based on the following topics.

Article 1 – Lecture Topic 1 on Production Possibilities Frontier Article 2 – Lecture Topic 3 on Market Equilibrium

Article 3 – Lecture Topic 4 on Elasticity OR Lecture Topic 5 on Utility

Select  THREE   (3) articles on  the SAME PRODUCT (for  example,  all  3  articles  on  coffee) or DIFFERENT PRODUCTS (for example, 1st  article on coffee, 2nd  article on apparel and 3rd  article on smartphone).

Analysing your Product Market

For each article, identify the event(s) or phenomena.  Summarise these events in your own words.

Analyse these events using the appropriate microeconomic concepts. Reproducing or paraphrasing the article does NOT constitute an analysis.

Economic diagram(s), where applicable must be drawn to support your analysis. Diagrams must be fully labelled and should not be hand-drawn.

The following analysis must be included.

Article 1 - Lecture Topic 1: PPF and Opportunity Cost

Shift in PPF (to include diagram to show the shift in PPF)

Explain the shape of the PPF (whether bowed shape or straight line PPF)

Analyse the opportunity cost when more of one product is produced

Article 2 - Lecture Topic 3: Market Equilibrium and Efficiency

Change in demand or supply or both (this is term as event) (to include diagram to show the changes in the event and the equilibrium quantity and price)

Analyse whether market is efficient before and after change in event

Analyse whether consumer surplus, producer surplus and total surplus increase or

decrease after change in event (to include diagram to show the changes in consumer surplus and producer surplus)

Analyse whether total surplus is maximised before and after change in event

Article 3 - Lecture Topic 4: Elasticity

Analyse the type of elasticity

Explain the type of elasticity using the factors that affect the type of elasticity

Analyse the changes in total revenue (to include diagram to show the changes in total revenue)

OR

- Lecture Topic 5: Utility

Analyse the changes in the budget line (to include diagram to show the changes in the budget line)

Analyse the changes in the consumer equilibrium using equalisation of MU per dollar (to include the MU per dollar diagram to show the changes in consumer equilibrium)

The following are some suggestions for the analysis:

Using PPF concept to analyse a reduction in the production of crops due to natural disasters like earthquakes or flood (topic 1)

Using market equilibrium analysis to analyse the changes in the price of semiconductor chips due to the high demand and reduced supply of semiconductor chips (topic 3)

Using price elasticity of demand to analyse the elasticity of oil as price of oil rises due essential needs and no close substitutability (topic 4)

Using utility and demand to analyse on household consumption choices (topic 5)

Writing your Report

Use Calibri Font Size 12pt.  Number your pages. Use single line spacing. Do a full justification (that is both left and right justified) of your report.

The report should be between 1,000 to 1,500 words. Each Analysis should have at least 180 words.

Use the template in Appendix 1 for your report format.

•    Limit each analysis to one page.

•    Begin each analysis on a new page. For example, analysis 2.1 on a new page, analysis 2.2 on a new page, and soon.

•    Ensure  consistency  throughout  the  report.  For  example,  consistent formatting  (such  as same font type and font size, same line spacing) throughout the whole report; diagrams are all drawn using the same software such as Powerpoint and not some diagrams are drawn using  PowerPoint  and  some  using  Word  or  Excel  software.     Diagrams  should  not  hand drawn.

Report Grading

This is a short report. The key to a good report is to be clear and concise. Report will be graded on the  various   report  components,   namely   proper   Cover   Page,   Introduction,   Article  Summary, Analysis, Diagrams, Conclusion, References as well as Report Consistency.

•    Marking Scheme

•    Penalty will be imposed for

o 20% for late submission of report (within one (1) day after the submission dateline)

o Up to 20% for use of non-newspaper sources

o Up to 20% for not adhering to dates of articles

o Plagiarism,  which  includes  copying  from  student’s  own  report  submitted  previously  to SIMGE  or  other  educational  institutions,  other  student  reports,  any  other  sources  and copying of economics diagrams from google or other sources. Any use of chatbot or any system powered by artificial intelligence, software or otherwise is considered as plagiarism.

Submission of Report

Submit the Word format of your  report online via Canvas  by 22nd January 2025  11:59am. Reports  submitted  through  other  ways  (e.g.,  through  email  or  hardcopy  to  the  lecturer  or  the school) will not be accepted.

1.        Introduction                                                                                                                 x

2.        Analysis

(The Analysis sub-titles below are for illustration purposes)

(The illustration below is where all the 3 articles are from the SAME product. You could also have the 3 articles from DIFFERENT products.)

2.1       Analysis 1 – Climate change impact on wheat production                   x

(Topic 1: PPF and Opportunity Cost)

2.2       Analysis 2 – Changes in demand and supply of wheat (Topic 3: Market Equilibrium)

2.3       Analysis 3 – Inelastic demand for wheat                                                 x

(Topic 4: Elasticity)

OR

Analysis 3 – Increased consumption of wheat due to higher utility (Topic 5: Utility and Demand)

1 Introduction

(One  paragraph  to  explain  or  discuss  why  you  have  selected  the  product(s)  for your report.)

(One paragraph to summarise the events and analysis of all the three articles.)

2 Analysis

2.1 Analysis 1 - Climate change impact on wheat production (Topic 1: PPF and Opportunity Cost)

Source : Quote the source of the article or if the article is obtained from the web, quote the web address

Summary

(One to two short paragraphs summarising the key event(s) in the article)

Analysis

(Two to three short paragraphs on analysing the key event(s) using microeconomic concepts)

(Economic diagram(s) to support the analysis)

2.2 Analysis 2 - Changes in demand and supply of wheat (Topic 3: Market Equilibrium)

Source :  Quote the source of the article or if the article is obtained from the web, quote the web address

Summary

(One to two short paragraphs summarising the key event(s) in the article)

Analysis

(Two  to  three  short   paragraphs  on  analysing  the   key  event(s)  using   microeconomic concepts)

(Economic diagram(s) to support the analysis)

2.3 Analysis 3 - Inelastic demand for wheat (Topic 4: Elasticity)

OR

Analysis 3 - Increased consumption of wheat due to higher utility (Topic 5: Utility and Demand)

Source : Quote the source of the article or if the article is obtained from the web, quote the web address

Summary

(One to two short paragraphs summarising the key event(s) in the article)

Analysis

(Two  to  three  short   paragraphs  on  analysing  the   key  event(s)  using   microeconomic concepts)

(Economic diagram(s) to support the analysis)

3 Conclusion

One paragraph on the overall view of the key analysis.

(The objective is to present an overall view or coherent view of the key analysis. It is NOT to be written in a ‘listing’ style where all the key analysis  is listed one by one for each topic).