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ECON1110 - In-The-News Assignment # 2 Assignment Description Put your name on the front page of the submitted assignment. This assignment is a test of

ECON1110 - In-The-News Assignment # 2

Assignment Description

Put your name on the front page of the submitted assignment.

This assignment is a test of the student's ability to understand and explain economic concepts we find in everyday life, viz., in our daily world outside of textbooks. Student submissions should be presented in a professional-looking, formal format.

For this assignment students need to select one topic - Topic A, or B, or C. These topics relate to conventional macroeconomic concepts, and thus students should find the theory and information contained in textbook Chapter 8 useful for Topic A and B, and Chapter 9 for Topic C.

Notes:

  • Students need to focus on answering the posed topics and questions rather than substituting them with alternatives.

  • Students are called on to use inductive logic, viz., drawing a conclusion from stated premises or assumptions where the relationship between the premises and conclusion is likely.For example, in answering the first question, the student needs to firstly identify the functions of money, secondly state the premises (student's assessment of the selected form of payment - bitcoin or M-Pesa - against each function of money), and then finally draw a conclusion stating the student's overall view regarding whether that form of payment qualifies to be called "money."

  • There are no mandatory reading assignments for these topics. Students should focus on the relevant economic aspects of the topic and should not underestimate the relevance of some material contained in the textbook. It is a good idea to refrain from getting caught up in current hype surrounding cryptocurrencies.

  • For subtopics b) and c) in both topics, there might not be any "textbook" answers available, and thus students may need to come up with their own ideas.

Topic A

Address the following three subtopics from a descriptive, rather than normative, perspective.

Money has several purposes or functions.

  1. Based on its functions or features, assess the degree to which Bitcoin (or other cryptocurrency) is considered money in Canada today.

  1. If cryptocurrencies were to become widely used as money in Canada over the upcoming 2 - 3 decades, what factors - including economic ones (mentioned in the textbook) - might contribute to this increased usage?

  1. If cryptocurrencies were to remain largely unused as money in Canada over the upcoming 2 - 3 decades, what factors, including economic ones, might contribute to that minimal adoption?

Some Interesting Articles

Bitcoin: A Primer, The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Dec13

Why Bitcoin Matters, New York Times, 21Jan14

Money in a Digital World, Bank of Canada, 13Nov14

The Economics of Digital Currencies, Bank of England, Q314

Bitcoin and the Digital-Currency Revolution, The Wall Street Journal, 23Jan15

The Road to Digital Money, Bank of Canada, 2019

Contingency Planning for a Central Bank Digital Currency, Bank of Canada,25Feb20

A Digital Dollar Would Have Winners and Losers. Here's What's at Stake, Barron's 22Jan22

The Future of Digital Currency is Arriving Fast. Can the Fed Catch Up?, Barron's 2Feb22

Topic B

Address the following three subtopics from a descriptive, rather than normative, perspective.

Money has several purposes or functions.

  1. Based on its functions or features, assess the degree to which M-Pesa is considered money in Kenya today.

  1. If a form of mobile-money product similarish to M-Pesa were to become widely used as money in Canada over the upcoming 2 - 3 decades, what factors - including economic ones (mentioned in the textbook) - might contribute to this increased usage?

  1. If a form of mobile money similarish to M-Pesa were to remain largely unused as money in Canada over the upcoming 2 - 3 decades, what factors, including economic ones, might contribute to that minimal adoption?

Note: to best appreciate what M-Pesa is today, try to understand exactly what M-Pesa was when it started as its nature has evolved.Hint - Safaricom is a phone-service provider (like Telus).

Some Interesting Articles

YouTube video (6 min.): The Story of M-Pesa; Techchange;https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0dBWaen3aQ

Why Does Kenya Lead the World in Mobile Money? The Economist, 27May13

Africa's Tech Edge, Atlantic Monthly, 16Apr14

Mobile Money in Developing Countries, The Economist, 29Sep14

Money in a Digital World, Bank of Canada, 13Nov14

What Kenya Can Teach its Neighbors - and the US - About Improving the Lives of the "Unbanked", Future Perfect, 11Sep20

Topic C

In late 2022 the Governor of the Bank of Canada, Tiff Macklem, gave a talk entitled "Restoring Labour Market Balance and Price Stability."In the introduction he poses three questions: i) Why can't businesses find enough workers?, ii) Are we going into a recession, and does that mean a big rise in the unemployment rate?, and iii) What is the Bank of Canada's role in supporting maximum sustainable employment?What are Governor Macklem's answers?

Article

Restoring Labour Market Balance and Price Stability, Bank of Canada, November 10, 2022

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