ECONOMIC ANALYSIS

Question 1

Forming an immigration policy is difficult because people differ in their opinions about which types of immigrants will help an economy. Many countries are developing point systems to help decide who will be allowed to immigrate. Suppose you are developing a point system for the United States. Name three characteristics of immigrants that you would weight highly in your point system. Defend your choices with economic reasoning.

Question 2

The recent pandemic will undoubtedly change some people’s thoughts about trade. In general, is freer trade generally good for a country? What exceptions, if any, should a country make regarding free trade? In other words, what are “reasonable” justifications for restricting trade?

Question 3

“Americans owed about $1.5 trillion in student loans at the end of March 2019, more than two times what they owed a decade earlier. The increase has come as historically high shares of young adults in the United States go to college and the cost of higher education increases.” (Pew Research)

Student debt has been a big topic of conversation in the Democratic presidential primary. Some of the candidates have proposed forgiving a large portion of a student’s debt. Explain the positive and negative aspects of doing so.

Question 4

“One-size-fits-all incentives like patents and exclusivity periods may not provide the right incentive for Humira [arthritis drug] or any other drug,” said Rachel Sachs, associate professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis. “We probably are under-rewarding drug innovation for some types of diseases, such as early-stage cancers requiring long clinical trials, and over-rewarding it for others.” -There Is No Single, Best Policy for Drug Prices, NYTimes, July 15, 2019.

How should the developers of drugs be rewarded? In your answer, give examples of drugs that are over-rewarded (through high prices) and ones that might be under-rewarded.

Question 5

Behavioral economics demonstrates how humans do not always behave rationally. The book “Thinking, Fast and Slow” by Daniel Kahneman discusses why this is so. Explain why humans do not behave rationally. Give three examples of times when humans have problems making decisions.

Question 6

“In the years ahead, Social Security does face a financial shortfall (Links to an external site.) that requires action by Congress. The combined trust funds for Social Security’s retirement and disability programs are on course to be depleted in 2035; without changes, funding from payroll tax receipts will be sufficient to pay only 80 percent of currently scheduled benefits.” NYTimes, August 2, 2019, 7 of Your Most Burning Questions on Social Security (With Answers).

LINK: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/12/business/social-security-shortfall-2020.html