Topic 10: Consumer Preference and Utility

In this contemporary society, sellers have been using different attractive and intelligent strategies in order to get consumers’ attention. For instance, nowadays teenagers from age 12 to 24 have tendency to buy products Skechers not only because it’s fashionable but also because it’s comfortable. Using advertising in magazine, Skechers Company is trying to promote its products by passing down information from one to another. In order to be the most competitive, Skechers Company has been inventing creative product such as roller blades, and leather boots. Creativity is essential in contemporary market, especially for teenagers. Skechers had located many stores in New York and Los Angeles, where are considered as one of the most popular and famous cities. In such urban area, Skechers believe they will receive more consumers. Skechers’ strategy was successful, because once it spreads out the popularity of its product, teenagers will tend to buy more not only because they become permanent consumers but also because their friends affect them to buy. Personally, I have high utility on Apple products. Actually, I think many people have high utility on Apple products. Apple Company has been innovatively created many new electronic products, which are both more useful and stylish than other products. For the products that I have low utility but other might have higher are scissors for cutting hair. One of the most expensive scissor can cost as much as iPhone. 

Topic 9: The Myth of Outsourcing's Effect

Globalization, comparative advantage and outsourcing are closely associated with each other. Famous companies like Nike, Adidas or Apple demonstrate great example of the connection among globalization, comparative advantage and outsourcing. In order to benefit its own comparative advantage, big company is globally looking for cheap labors, who can provide good service while receiving minimum wage. By having outsourcing, big company provoked a tendency of losing jobs in its own country. More and more people's jobs were replaced by those cheap labors, who lived in China or India. Those outsourcing requires physical strength, which means labors do not have to possess any skill. Of course, due to the huge populations, famous companies started moving their factors to China or India in order to hire cheap labors. The more labors a company has the more product the company will produce. Once the quantity of supply increases, the price of supply will gradually decrease. Outsourcing has to do with opportunity cost, as I mentioned earlier, because the companies can maximizing their benefit while minimizing their cost. Statistically, even though people seem to lose their jobs in their country, outsourcing literally created more job opportunities in other countries. By looking at the data provided in video, we can see Job Lost goes up to 391 million; however, Created job goes up to 411 million, which is higher than Job Lost. Therefore, people seem to fight against the outsourcing in their countries; conversely, outsourcing allowed 20 million people to have jobs within 4 years. According to the video, outsourcing shouldn't be a problem until people start thinking to stop it. 

Topic 8: Debate on Globalization

In this contemporary society, many developed countries have tendency to hire those cheap employees from huge population countries such as China and India; therefore, those employers can maximize their benefits by minimizing the cost of labors. Globalization, in terms of economics, can be defined as beginning to operate business throughout the world. Developed countries, such as United States, established many factors with labors from both India and China; unfairly, those labors normally will receive a minimum wages. By looking at this video, we know the issue is more associated with macroeconomics, which symbolizes national economics, and the video also demonstrates the interaction between two countries can cause great global influences. 

Topic 7: Government Farm Subsidies

Even though government provides subsidies to producers, who are farmers, producers don’t think passing this bill of giving subsidies is a good idea, because those farmers are considered as rich people, who earn twice what the average American earns. And I strongly disagree with this assumption, because I think government shouldn’t offer money to rich people; conversely, government should offer those subsidies to poor people in order to let them have more opportunities to find new jobs or live with better lives. People, who have own farmlands but are not farmers, also received subsidies, because government want to suppress the growth of crops. Looking at the video, we can obviously tell the reason why some politicians support this assumption of giving out subsidies to crop framers is that they want to win the elections. Subsidy was come from citizen’s taxes; therefore, the government should provide subsidies to organizations such as colleges, and universities, in which can benefit people the most. Yes, people who don’t have school aged children should also pay taxes to support schools; as a result of those people were once students, and in order to form an equal society, all the people, who supposed to pay taxes, should pay taxes to government; however people also have rights to affect government’s decision of how to use those taxes. 

Topic 6: Opportunity Cost of a College Education

AP Micro - Journal Topic 6: Opportunity Cost of a College Education

Marginal analysis is ubiquitous in our lives, no matter is to examine the benefit and cost of the decision we make or is to analyze what can benefit us the most. One example in video is most of students are struggling with the problem of whether they should spend more years on studying or years on working? Which one will be the most beneficial for them? Statistically, graduated students make more money than non-graduated students; however, looking at some of the richest people, who were non-graduated students at the time, we can see there’s no certain values or answers for the marginal benefit and marginal cost. Depending on different kind of people, marginal benefit and cost can be different. For instance, if you are going to run a company, then I think it’s not really important whether you graduate from college or not; if you are going to work for the person who runs the company, then your educational background has great influence on your wages. By examining their marginal cost and benefit, some students decided to stay in college for one more year in order to make sure they can get a stable job or higher pay. But, like doctor or lawyer, some vocation requires certain years of studying in college. Therefore, marginal cost and benefit is really depends on different people, and we always want to make sure our benefit exceeds our cost. To me, even though I am not sure about what I am going to do in the future, I will still graduate from college in order to make sure I have at least college degree. 

Topic 5: Ripple Effects and Elasticity

Topic 5: Ripple Effects and Elasticity

Oil, which is considered as one of the most important resource in contemporary society, provided the essential energy for human’s vehicles and transportations. By looking at the ripple effect, we can understand the concept of one change of just a little thing can potentially influence subsequent events. Therefore, it’s hard to predict the price of oil; as a result of not only the 2/3 was controlled by one country but also the instable elasticity of oil. Both my father and mother have to drive car to work everyday; therefore, even though the cost of oil is a big concern for them, my parents will not reduce their demand for oil, because they don’t have substitute transportation except cars. For our family, the graph of oil’s price and demand can look like. By looking at the graph, we can see when price of oil, the demand for oil does not change. Inter-connectedness, also known as ripple effect, can be the connection among oil -> plastic -> apple productions -> me (buyers.) Another instance for inter-connectedness of oil can be what kind of cars consumers buy due to the price of oil. In order to save expenditure on oil, more people tend to buy hybrid car, or even electronic car. By doing so, people can not only save the expense on soil but also reduce the pollution in our environment. Looking at the elasticity of oil, there’s unit elasticity for oil’s price and quantity, but we are not sure. The simplest way to figure how the unit elasticity is when the price and quantity reach to the maximum point and start going down.