Lower Sixth Homework : National Minimum Wage

HW due Friday 25/11 - 11pm when your weekend starts!

With reference to Extract 2 (of the handout), to what extent might an increase in the National Minimum Wage lead to job losses in hairdressing.  Illustrate your answer with an appropriate labour market diagram.

14 mark question.

Evaluation points to develop:

• Magnitude
• Elasticity of demand for labour
• Wage costs as a proportion of total costs
• Those paid above NMW
• Trainees are exempt
• Employ illegally

Lower Sixth Homework : Labour Market Puzzles

HW due on  Friday 4th November

I haven't forgotten your other HW either; we will go through both on Friday.

You should be able to view the worksheet with the puzzles on here.

If this fails to work, please leave a comment and I will cut and paste the questions onto the blog.  Just thought I'd try some new technology: one must always strive to move with the times.

Lower Sixth Homework : Wheat Prices

Re-read the article carefully then answer the following exam-style question.

HW due Weds 2/11

Evaluate two likely effects of the most recent price increase (2010) on livestock farmers.


Success criteria  : two paragraphs, each has some evaluation and considers other viewpoints, refers to article, utterly brilliant use of economics terminology.

Lower Sixth Homework : Price of Football

Read the report on the price of football here.

Using as many economic concepts as you can, and at least one demand diagram,

1)explain why there are such price differences
2) evaluate which are the strongest factors in determining the demand for football tickets

Free Market and Mixed Economies

Dear Lower Sixth,

Here is some more information on the last topic we covered on Friday.  It is from a rival's blog.  He'd probably be thrilled to get a mention on the world famous Ignatian Economics website.

Link is here

And for those of you who want to go above what you need to know for the exam, here is a collection of essays exploring the philosophical arguments regarding markets, such as do markets erode moral character?

Essential Revision Material for unit 1

Click here to download the examiners' report for the June 2009 exam. It's brilliant. it shows you a candidate's response then one of them criticises it and tells you how to do better. Great revision resource. Nearly as great as........

......click here to download a document called "evaluating unit 1". I've used the mark-schemes and examiners' reports to give you ideas on how to evaluate. It's complex and ideally I would have discussed it with you in a lesson. Instead, please leave comments or questions here and I shall answer your question. Let's try and get a mini-forum going.

Enjoy the snow ........... from your bedroom window as you sit and revise for the hardest, but most rewarding exam, of your school career.

Labour Markets

Labour Immobility

View more presentations from jefferykind.

The next topic for the Lower Sixth Economists is about Labour Markets. Here, a former student, presents his thoughts - good for an intro.

Markets: where buyers and sellers meet

like here

The BBC

James Murdoch, heir to the Murdoch Empire, which the more observant of you may now have noticed has an outpost very near our school (the New International printing plant) has launched an attack on the BBC describing their power in the market as 'chilling' and - rather unconvincingly - tried to compare them to creationism, whereas Sky are the Darwinists. Please leave a comment if you understand the metaphor: I didn't.

Again, this is an interesting topic for Economists. Who provides the best television? Which market system will work best? The BBC (hmmmm, yes) or Sky (hmmmm, no). But then look at America. HBO produces some of the best TV in the world and that is because there is no BBC. James Murdoch argues that the BBC represents unfair competition. It is paid for by what we call a hypothecated tax (definition from The Economist here) and prevents private companies like Sky charging for such things as on-line content.

See his attack on the BBC here

All Hail the Free Market

Does the free market erode market character?  Here is a quite high-brow collection of essays on the role of the market and its benefits and limitations.  Above the heads of many and certainly for our more philosophical and cranial readers?

Lower Sixth Economists are just starting to explore the 'market system'.  Ask about any of the essays here and a most interesting discussion could follow in lessons

Immigration

This is a very contentious issue; most of us have a view on it. This article and the comments that follow are well worth a read as they form a very comprehensive analysis of the economic arguments for and against immigration. Whatever the size of the contribution, the intractable truth is that immigrant labour does contribute to our economy.

Clueless in the Lords | Comment is free

The Polish Debate

Immigration is a controversial issue. Read the headlines from The Daily Mail outlined here. to what extent do you agree with them? Using your knowledge of economics, is there any justification for the Daily Mail's vitriol?

Polish federation accuses Daily Mail of defamation | Media | The Guardian