Home Naked Economics Assignment Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global EconomyTEACH the CLASS: Use actual examples from at least one of the Four Parts of Pietra’s book—Texas, China, North Carolina, Africa-- to demonstrate the concept(s) raised in each of the Wheelan chapter. ASSESSMENT: Teach the Class Rubric
1. On the wiki post Power Paragraphs( click for a review of the power paragraph), not more than two, that use compelling evidence from the Pietra text to exemplify the economic concepts described in the Wheelan chapter.
2. Ask open-ended questions which encourage the students to demonstrate that they understand why your example is a practical application of the economic concept. Their engagement indicates their understanding. Be prepared to explain the concept in an alternative way. This is your formative assessment.
3. Each of the six posts should focus on one of Rivoli's four regions.
4. When the project is complete each student will have written paragraphs on all four of the regions--Texas, China, North Carolina, Africa and the content covered will demonstrate that the student read and understands the Rivoli text. This is a sumative grade, 100 points.Friday, August 27: Chapter 1, The Power of MarketsThe topic of this paragraph is the African used T-shirt market from the Rivoli text, and how it relates to the power of markets, as described in Naked Economics. Because the African used shirt market is such a pure market, the consumers decide what to produce, the firms decide how to produce, and who get it is determined in the market. In "The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy" by Pietra Rivoli, the author visits these markets and is immediately surprised by the "enthusiastic mitumba (used clothing) shopper[s]" and how demanding the consumers are (235). This relates to the Wheelan text because it thoroughly discusses the power that markets give consumers because they choose what is supplied to them. Tuesday, August 30: Chapter 2, Incentives Matter Overall goal: Demonstrate to the year 1 students that economics gives us an analytical framework for thinking about important questions such as incentives. Objectives: 1. Accurately and precisely define the following: adverse selection, perverse incentives, principle-agent problem, the expansion of underground economies. 2. Select compelling evidence from the Travels of the T-Shirt and clearly explain how each example demonstrates one of the four behaviors. When you have exemplified all four concepts make sure that you have used at least one example from Texas, China, North Carolina, and Africa. 3. Post your paragraphs—one for each concept on your wiki before class, 4. Present your examples to the year 1 students.
The topic of this paragraph is adverse selection and how it relates to the North Carolinian textile mills. Adverse selection generally arises when buyers and sellers have asymmetrical information, an example of which is when workers are not payed based on productivity, common with government workers, teachers, and other unionized labor forces. In "The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy" by Pietra Rivoli, the author investigates the political prowess of the textile mills that, despite not being any good at producing cheap shirts, have managed to stay afloat in the global economy, and found that government protection has allowed these mills to stay in business (156). This is almost the exact definition of adverse selection, because what can be seen as the worst possible people for the job, are still making shirts.
The topic of this paragraph is perverse incentives and how it relates to the Texan cotton farmers. Perverse incentives or unintended consequences arise when a government policy is enacted with the intention of helping some market, but instead hurts the market it was trying to help, or hurts some other market in ways that where not foreseen when the policy was implemented. In "The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy" by Pietra Rivoli, the author visits Texas to see the effects of government subsidies on the cotton producing world and found that while the American farmers are happily producing cotton with an inflated profit, farmers in Africa are suffering direly (52). Although it is not the intention of the US government to hurt the African farmers, it is an unintended consequence of padding the cotton farmer's lifestyle.
The topic of this paragraph is the principle-agent problem and how it relates to African used clothing shops. When a firm hires a worker, it must find some way to make sure that the worker does what is in the best interest of the company rather than his or her own best interest, this is called the principle-agent problem. In "The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy" by Pietra Rivoli, the author visits Africa in hopes of getting to know how the firms deal with the principle-agent problem, and meets "Geofrey Milonge in 2003 at his T-shirt stall near the center of the Manzese market" (230). In order to make sure the workers are looking out for the best interest of the company, Geofrey is the only worker of his own stand; so the more shirts he sells, the more money he makes.
The topic of this paragraph is the expansion of underground economies and how it relates to the Chinese textile mills. When there is an excess of restrictions on an economy, an underground economy will form: a market that is illegal, but still more profitable than the regular market. In "The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy" by Pietra Rivoli, the author travels to Chinese textile mills to investigate the underground economies created by the web of tariffs and quotas thrown over textile imports, and finds one mill that had "'made in' labels for numerous countries on the sewing tables, and [the] Chinese supplier had offered good 'made in' Cambodia, Kenya, or Lesotho" (180). The illegal tagging of shirts going on in China is a direct result of the restrictions placed on the global economy. Works CitedRivoli, Pietra. The Travels of a T-shirt in the Global Economy: an Economist Examines the Markets, Power, and Politics of World Trade. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley, 2009. Print. Wheelan, Charles J. Naked Economics: Undressing the Dismal Science. New York: W. W. Norton, 2010. Print. Conor,
Considerable improvement. Topic sentences should advance an idea not restate the question.
Naked Economics Assignment
Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy TEACH the CLASS: Use actual examples from at least one of the Four Parts of Pietra’s book—Texas, China, North Carolina, Africa-- to demonstrate the concept(s) raised in each of the Wheelan chapter.
ASSESSMENT: Teach the Class Rubric
1. On the wiki post Power Paragraphs( click for a review of the power paragraph), not more than two, that use compelling evidence from the Pietra text to exemplify the economic concepts described in the Wheelan chapter.
2. Ask open-ended questions which encourage the students to demonstrate that they understand why your example is a practical application of the economic concept. Their engagement indicates their understanding. Be prepared to explain the concept in an alternative way. This is your formative assessment.
3. Each of the six posts should focus on one of Rivoli's four regions.
4. When the project is complete each student will have written paragraphs on all four of the regions--Texas, China, North Carolina, Africa and the content covered will demonstrate that the student read and understands the Rivoli text. This is a sumative grade, 100 points. Friday, August 27: Chapter 1, The Power of Markets The topic of this paragraph is the African used T-shirt market from the Rivoli text, and how it relates to the power of markets, as described in Naked Economics. Because the African used shirt market is such a pure market, the consumers decide what to produce, the firms decide how to produce, and who get it is determined in the market. In "The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy" by Pietra Rivoli, the author visits these markets and is immediately surprised by the "enthusiastic mitumba (used clothing) shopper[s]" and how demanding the consumers are (235). This relates to the Wheelan text because it thoroughly discusses the power that markets give consumers because they choose what is supplied to them.
Tuesday, August 30: Chapter 2, Incentives Matter
Overall goal: Demonstrate to the year 1 students that economics gives us an analytical framework for thinking about important questions such as incentives.
Objectives:
1. Accurately and precisely define the following: adverse selection, perverse incentives, principle-agent problem, the expansion of underground economies.
2. Select compelling evidence from the Travels of the T-Shirt and clearly explain how each example demonstrates one of the four behaviors. When you have exemplified all four concepts make sure that you have used at least one example from Texas, China, North Carolina, and Africa.
3. Post your paragraphs—one for each concept on your wiki before class,
4. Present your examples to the year 1 students.
The topic of this paragraph is adverse selection and how it relates to the North Carolinian textile mills. Adverse selection generally arises when buyers and sellers have asymmetrical information, an example of which is when workers are not payed based on productivity, common with government workers, teachers, and other unionized labor forces. In "The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy" by Pietra Rivoli, the author investigates the political prowess of the textile mills that, despite not being any good at producing cheap shirts, have managed to stay afloat in the global economy, and found that government protection has allowed these mills to stay in business (156). This is almost the exact definition of adverse selection, because what can be seen as the worst possible people for the job, are still making shirts.
The topic of this paragraph is perverse incentives and how it relates to the Texan cotton farmers. Perverse incentives or unintended consequences arise when a government policy is enacted with the intention of helping some market, but instead hurts the market it was trying to help, or hurts some other market in ways that where not foreseen when the policy was implemented. In "The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy" by Pietra Rivoli, the author visits Texas to see the effects of government subsidies on the cotton producing world and found that while the American farmers are happily producing cotton with an inflated profit, farmers in Africa are suffering direly (52). Although it is not the intention of the US government to hurt the African farmers, it is an unintended consequence of padding the cotton farmer's lifestyle.
The topic of this paragraph is the principle-agent problem and how it relates to African used clothing shops. When a firm hires a worker, it must find some way to make sure that the worker does what is in the best interest of the company rather than his or her own best interest, this is called the principle-agent problem. In "The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy" by Pietra Rivoli, the author visits Africa in hopes of getting to know how the firms deal with the principle-agent problem, and meets "Geofrey Milonge in 2003 at his T-shirt stall near the center of the Manzese market" (230). In order to make sure the workers are looking out for the best interest of the company, Geofrey is the only worker of his own stand; so the more shirts he sells, the more money he makes.
The topic of this paragraph is the expansion of underground economies and how it relates to the Chinese textile mills. When there is an excess of restrictions on an economy, an underground economy will form: a market that is illegal, but still more profitable than the regular market. In "The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy" by Pietra Rivoli, the author travels to Chinese textile mills to investigate the underground economies created by the web of tariffs and quotas thrown over textile imports, and finds one mill that had "'made in' labels for numerous countries on the sewing tables, and [the] Chinese supplier had offered good 'made in' Cambodia, Kenya, or Lesotho" (180). The illegal tagging of shirts going on in China is a direct result of the restrictions placed on the global economy.
Works CitedRivoli, Pietra. The Travels of a T-shirt in the Global Economy: an Economist Examines the Markets, Power, and Politics of World Trade. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley, 2009. Print.
Wheelan, Charles J. Naked Economics: Undressing the Dismal Science. New York: W. W. Norton, 2010. Print.
Conor,
Considerable improvement. Topic sentences should advance an idea not restate the question.