Assignment:
CASE STUDY 1
Economist Joseph Schumpeter, who taught at Harvard from 1932 until his death in 1950, popularized the term "creative destruction" to describe the capitalist process in which entrepreneurs introduce new goods and services to economic markets that displace existing goods and services. Though this innovative process results in increased wealth and better standards of living overall, not everybody benefits equally. The opportunity cost of buying a newly available product is the use of the old one that has been given up, so those in the camp of the new, different, and desirable do very well, while those camped out with the old and no longer desirable products see their prospects decline.
Provide an example of creative destruction you have witnessed during your lifetime and describe what the benefits and costs to the economy have been. Who was enriched and whose fortunes declined?
For your main (initial) response, construct thoughtful and detailed responses to the Discussion.After your initial response, post at least two substantial responses to your classmates and instructor's posts in order to earn full credit.
Case Study 2
Read the Last Word piece, "Government Failure" in the News, in Chapter 5 in your textbook. Investigate the use of special-interest lobbyists for some of these articles. The process of lobbying legislatures is itself a big business. State legislatures are under the same kind of pressure from interest groups as the Senate and the House of Representatives. Provide an example to discuss how special interests can succeed in perpetuating policies that are opposed by the majority of voters because the costs of organizing and motivating groups to take political action increase with group's size.
For your main (initial) response, construct thoughtful and detailed responses to the Discussion.After your initial response, post at least two substantial responses to your classmates and instructor's posts in order to earn full credit.