Assignment 2 for Mr Hue's classes

Dear students of S19/07 and S27/07,

Here's what I thought of your comments. (Words in bold indicate economic terms which we will encounter in these two years.)

The most popular post, Valentine’s Day Special 2007, attracted 18 comments. Most of you found various websites to explain why prices of roses and other flowers can double on Valentine’s Day. Many understood intuitively that supply would be very inelastic, and rightly attributed the price increase to a spike in demand near Valentine’s Day. One astute student pointed out that this was a timing issue – procrastination by consumers contribute to the price rise.

Other posts received fewer comments. For COE prices, a student rightly identified COE and cars as perfect complements – to own a car, one needs a COE.

On a lighter note, you were asked to consider if blood pressure readings could replace GDP as a measure of economic growth or happiness. One student considered the anecdotal example of a businessman who, under the pressure of bettering his previous earnings, would have high income alongside high blood pressure. Another suggested that when people enjoy their work, they are more productive and could have lower blood pressure. Putting it in the local context, Singaporeans may not have low blood pressures as they tend to work for salary rather than personal interest. Here's a little food for further thought: Are Singaporeans working too hard? Do we care about our economic happiness as well?

The issue of Filipino maids wage doubling led several students to identify websites which presented various perspectives on the issue. Students correctly identified that substitutes for Filipino maids exist – e.g. Indonesian / Sri Lankan maids. One student even hinted at the possibility of an illegal market arising if a price floor (specifically: a minimum wage) was set in the market for Filipino maids. She suggested that there might be an increase in illegal hiring of maids because women desperate for money would not mind coming to Singapore for a lesser pay.

Here's my evaluation of your work.

Overall, you guys did a great job! I hope the blog comment assignment has extended you beyond textbook and lecture content, and compelled you to think about real world issues, and broadened your horizons.

Here's what you should do next.

Continue to read beyond your lecture notes. Read your textbook (e.g. Sloman / Bamford / etc). Read the newspapers (e.g. The Straits Times) and economics publications such as Economic Review and Economist. Find out for yourselves how real, fun and exciting economics is in our daily lives!

Cheers,
Mr Hue
April 2007

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Dear students from 19/07 and 27/07,

Blog Comment Assignment

Individually, select any 1 of the 7 posts or questions below which you're interested in (i.e. JC Economist blog posts in Feb 2007).

Post a one-paragraph comment/answer to the blog post (30-80 words). You do not need to answer all the questions. Focus on just 1 question or idea which interests you. Use the economics knowledge you have learnt from your first 3 months as JC economists! Go beyond the blog posts, include 1-2 related web links you find, and provide a one-line description of the link.

To leave a comment,
1. click on 'COMMENTS' at the end of the blog post
2. type your comment and related web link (with an accompanying one-line description)
3. choose your identity as 'Other'
4. type your name in the format [YourName] from Sxx/07. For example, if Adam Smith were from S19/07, he would type 'Adam Smith from S19/07'.
5. click on 'Publish your comment', and you're done!

This blog comment assignment is due on 4 April 2007 (Wednesday) at noon.

Happy blog commenting! =)

Mr Hue