Teaching StrategiesTeaching StrategiesTeaching StrategiesTeaching Strategies

Sharing ThoughtsSharing Thoughts

The use of film

Roger and MeThe social effects of unemployment

Life and DebtThe damaging effects of IMF policies on developing countries: the case of Jamaica

More filmsChildren of Heaven

The unequal distribution of income

The CorporationExternalities among many other issues

Goodbye LeninEconomies in transitionTOK – Alex manages to use the same images to portray a completely different (and false) reality.

The Wall Street JournalI prepare questions based on articles from the WSJ

Consider the following 2 examples

TERM ISingapore Airlines' fiscal second-quarter net profit dropped 15% as high fuel prices offset growth in passenger numbers.Singapore Airlines has been jolted by problems at Airbus that have delayed delivery of the $300 million A380 superjumbo jetliner. The carrier had planned to make the first commercial A380 flight from London's Heathrow airport this year but now won't get the planes until at least next October. It has firm orders for 10 A380s and an option to buy nine more.

The carrier said its passenger capacity is expected to increase by only 1% next year because of the delay. "If the A380s were delivered on time, capacity would have expanded 4% to 5% next year," said Chief Executive Chew Choon Seng.Singapore Airlines said fuel costs rose 32% to S$2.56 billion in the fiscal first half, as jet-fuel prices averaged $90 a barrel compared with $74 a year earlier. The company said 40% of its total spending was for fuel.

The airline also said it expected demand for air travel to remain buoyant thanks to economic growth in Europe and Asia.

Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter and de facto leader of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, informed some of its customers it was cutting their supplies because of its OPEC commitment to reduce output by 380,000 barrels a day from Nov. 1. [1]:

[1] Adapted from Fuel Prices Squeeze Singapore Airlines, published on October 30, 2006 and from Crude Oil Falls As Doubts Swirl Over OPEC Cuts, published on October 24, 2006 in the Wall Street Journal.

Answer the following questions:1. Define the following terms, which appear in bold in the text:

a) Demand [2 marks]

b) Economic growth [3 marks]

2. With the aid of supply and demand diagrams, explain the effect of each of the following on the price and quantity of air travel. [12 marks]

a) High fuel prices

b) The delayed delivery of the A380 superjumbo jetliners

c) Expected buoyant demand.

3. Use the text and your knowledge of economics to explain how OPEC could maintain oil prices within a desired range.

[8 marks]

Cocoa Farmers Strike in Ivory CoastAssociated Press

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast -- Cocoa farmers across Ivory Coast went on strike Monday, holding back their crops to protest low retail prices and high export taxes. If the action is sustained it could affect the global chocolate industry.

The West African country is the world's top grower of cocoa beans, producing 40% of global output each year, according to government statistics, despite being split following a civil war.

"The strike is on …we called on the farmers to hoard their beans," Koffi Kanga, a representative of the country's cocoa farmers association, said by telephone from San Pedro, Ivory Coast's second-largest cocoa port after the commercial capital of Abidjan.

The action comes days after authorities officially opened the harvesting season by announcing a retail price of 80 cents a kilogram, roughly 40 cents a pound. Cocoa association President Henri Amouzou said the farmers are seeking $1.15 a kilogram (57 cents per pound).

Union leaders said they planned to stop trucks carrying cocoa and other farm products such as papayas and bananas to Abidjan until the price is raised. Ms. Ganes-Chase said cocoa beans could succumb to mold while being stored during the strike, but that these losses would not be very large.

Ivory Coast's 700,000 increasingly impoverished cocoa farmers say they don't make enough money to send their children to school.

Although the government's set price often doesn't match what farmers are actually paid, it sets a benchmark for farmers who plan to sell their beans to local buyers.

Mr. Amouzou said farmers also want the government to slash the main cocoa export tax by 45% to allow local buyers and exporters to pay farmers a higher price. Current export taxes are about 40 cents per kilogram (20 cents per pound). Cocoa taxes are the main source of government revenue and have been used to buy arms and military equipment, according to U.N. experts.

Rohit Savand, a commodities analyst with New York's CPM Group, said a price increase would be hard to come by considering that favorable weather has increased Ivory Coast's cocoa supply significantly this year.Copyright © 2006 Associated Press

Questions1. Define the terms:

a) supply [3 marks]b) commodities [2 marks]

2. with the aid of supply and demand diagrams show the effect of each of the following on the price and quantity of cocoa

a) the strike [4 marks]b) eliminating the export tax [4 marks]c) favorable weather [4 marks]

3. Use the text and your knowledge of economics to evaluate the effect of price setting by the government (paragraph 7) on the cocoa market.

[8 marks]

MUNI encourage my students to participate in MUN and help choose ECOSOC topics that would assist them in understanding the links between economics and politics.

Some Past issues:

Farm subsidies

Trips agreement and drug accessibility for LDCS

Digital divide

Water privatization

ECOSOC Crisis IssueA wire from Agence France Presse (AFP) has communicated that a demonstration related to the new labor law has turned sour when a group of students jumped off the Eiffel tower in a desperate act of protest. The students predominantly from Algerian and Moroccan origin wrapped themselves in garbage bags and wore slogans “CPE: C’est Pas Egale pour nous” (CPE: It is not fair for us)

The new labor law known as CPE (Contrat Premier Emploi: first job contract) makes it easier for French firms to lay off young workers (under the age of 26). The new law was introduced to increase flexibility in the labor market and therefore reduce unemployment. Reducing labor market rigidities, such as long term contracts, minimum wages and other various employment benefits reduce the costs of hiring new workers and tend to reduce unemployment.

Labor market deregulation is high on the EU agenda and many EU member states, including Germany have successfully implemented them. The events have renewed concerns about the alienation of immigrants in France and have also revived skepticism about the homogeneity of the EU. What works in Germany will not necessarily work in France!

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What are some of What are some of your strategies?your strategies?

What are some of What are some of your strategies?your strategies?