500 words economic and policy analysis

Instructions

It has been a strange and a difficult year. The global health pandemic has created some serious challenges for all of us personally as well as for the larger economy. However, adversity often leads to leaps in creativity and changes the way we think about the world.

In this essay, you must write about one way in which the past year will permanently change the way we live. Your essay should use one of the concepts covered in the ECN130 lectures (either micro or macro) to aid your argument. To help with this, examples of topics include (but are not limited to):

• How and where we work.
• International travel and/or trade.
• Research and development of pharmaceuticals.
• Technology in our everyday lives.
• Short and/or long run implications for children.
• The impact of continued social distancing on businesses.
• Working in the gig economy.

Do not try to give the definitive work on a topic. Answer a very specific question (e.g. “Will Ibiza holidays still be a popular after the pandemic?”; “Will (or which) jobs return to the office after the pandemic?”).

Your essay should demonstrate the use of a concept covered in ECN130 lectures. I recommend that you focus your argument on one ECN130 concept, do not try to demonstrate several concepts. The concept can come from Micro (elasticity, labour markets, productivity, markets for other goods), or Macro (aggregate demand, taxes and debt, monetary policy, trade).

Your essay should be a maximum of 500 words in length, and include at least one supporting reference with a bibliography (using the Harvard referencing style). The bibliography and citations will not be included in the word count. Further, words from any tables, diagrams or equations used to aid in your argument will not be included in the word count.

References should come from reputable publications and sources. At the end of this document there are some suggestions to help you get started.

Students are encouraged to pair-up to assist in proofreading and editing each other’s work. However, it is highly recommended that student pairs address different topics. This will mitigate the possibility of unintentional plagiarism.

Submission

Coursework must be submitted electronically through Blackboard using the Turnitin Feedback Studio. You must use the coversheet available in the Turnitin Feedback Studio—entitled “ECN Turnitin Submission Template.docx”. Failure to use this coversheet will incur a 5% deduction of your coursework mark, which will be applied before any late penalties have been imposed.

The coversheet includes a space to copy and paste your essay. After you copy and paste your essay, please make sure that you are happy with the formatting (some changes may happen automatically). You must use an Arial 12 point font, double-spacing, and have a minimum of 2cm margins all around.

Unauthorised late submissions after 12:00 (noon) on the day of the deadline will incur a penalty of 5%. An additional 5% penalty will be added after 24 hours from 12:00 (noon) on the day of the deadline and then at 24 hour intervals, up to 5 working days late. After that, a mark of zero will be awarded.

Assessment

Writing Assignment 1 will make up 15% of your overall module mark.

Examples of assignments from previous years are provided on Blackboard. Students are encouraged to look at the Face-to-face lecture slides for Week 4 (in Week 4, Semester 1 content folder on Blackboard) for tips regarding structure and clarity.

There are no correct or incorrect answers for this essay. You will be judged on the strength of your written argument. Marks will be given according to the following