Answer each separately (Number them)

Critique 1-2 points made in each response

1. Free riders are people who use a resource without paying for it. They are incentivized to not pay by the fact that common resources are not excludable and therefore, nobody can control the use without specific policies in place. In addition, common resources are rival because there are less for us left after a free rider uses it. Of course, in a group project, I find that there is always at least one person who is free riding. That means they don't take ownership of any part of the project, miss project meetings and, overall, do not contribute much. Since the whole group is graded together, the other group members pick up slack because they are concerned about the grade. The other team members cannot make the free rider step up and do their work. Therefore, professors use the confidential evaluation to overcome this problem. In my opinion, that is only effective if a large percent of the grade comes from it. For example, if the teammates' evaluation is only worth 10% of the grade, I don't think it would change the free rider's behavior. Of course, there are also other issues with using the evaluation in a confidential format and those have more to do with group psychology and not economics, and it can be a slippery slope if members of the team turn on one member as an outcast. It is very difficult for a professor to determine if this was due to this person's work or some other reasons. I'm also attaching a fun pic I found for group project dynamics.
2. This week's reading taught us about the concept of free riders. This term gets addressed to a person who does not help pay or provide for a public good but still uses that good by free riding on the contribution of others - or using the good despite not collaborating. In a classroom setting, if our professor were to assign a group project, a free rider problem that could arise would involve one of the group members not helping out in the project. If my group decides to divide the project into parts and each group member is responsible for one of the parts, the workload would be lessened. But if one person decides not to do the work and shows up empty-handed, suddenly the majority of the group - the people that did their part - are at a loss because the group will receive a lower grade due to the missing part, but the person that did not complete his work will come out winning because he will be receiving a grade without having done anything. If a confidential report about the contribution of the peers is requested, the person who did not do his part will possibly face a consequence, or he could lie about what he did or did not do, but the desired effects will no longer be at play. The desired effect of the group would be a higher score, and unless the professor grants a higher score to the people that did the work and a lower score to the member that did not, it would be a hard situation to fix.
3. College education costs rose significantly in recent years and it is primarily due to the fact that a college degree is very valuable in terms of future earnings and chances of being unemployed. A person with a college degree earns on average $1 million more over the lifetime than a high school graduate and has a much lower chance of being unemployed. At the same time, the value of a high school diploma has decreased because the jobs that require only a high school diploma continue to shrink in numbers. Most jobs of tomorrow require technical knowledge that comes with a college degree. These factors have contributed to the fact that applications to colleges have skyrocketed and demand on admissions is very high, as we don't have to go too far and see it in our UC systems, with most campuses sporting less than 10% acceptance rates last year. In addition, the operational costs and facility costs have risen over time. I would propose revamping the whole live on campus experience as an expectation and would maximize online learning instead, as has happened during the pandemic. I would argue that the workplace of tomorrow is remote and hybrid and it should be mirrored in the educational models. I would also recommend increasing foreign student fees and increasing government support for domestic students to reduce demand pressure, hopefully leading to lower costs.
4. There are several reasons for the increase in university tuition, one of which is the decrease in financial support from federal, state, and local governments. In addition, the university is poorly managed, so that the university can only maintain its operation by raising the tuition fees. In order to improve the ranking, some universities increase their hardware construction efforts, which will also cause unnecessary expenditures. In order to make universities more affordable, I think, first, university resources can be integrated with public resources to increase the utilization rate of resources, thereby reducing costs. For example, some stadiums and facilities can be opened to the society for fees, reducing idleness and increasing university income. Second, create opportunities to encourage alumni and people from all walks of life to donate small amounts and gather sand into a tower. Third, lower the interest rate of student loans. Although university tuition fees are rising, higher education qualifications can bring equal or even more value. In the labor market, high education brings high income. If more people can afford the cost of higher education and more people choose to go to university, this will further promote the progress of social science, technology, and civilization. It will be a virtuous circle to reduce university tuition fees and give students more opportunities to become talented. It will be a virtuous circle for future graduates to donate back to the university to support the growth of the next-generation students in the university.