AP Macroeconomics Senior Research Project

Each student will prepare a 750-1250 word research paper, with bibliography and references. Over the next few weeks, different parts of the project will be due and count as quiz or assignment grades. Each component of the project will be graded separately. The paper will be about a current issue in macroeconomics with teacher approval. The next page provides a useful list of topics.

Schedule of Due Dates:

Tuesday, May 29: Opening /Thesis Paragraph.

Thursday, May 31:Annotated Bibliography with one or two sentences describing each of at least 3 sources. Proper MLA or APA citations required.

Tuesday, June 5: One page outline of proposed paper (It should have Roman numerals and letters )

Thursday, June 7: Final 750-1250 word paper due with Works Cited page and parenthetical references. Submit the final copy of the paper to the Turnitin.com website.

Helpful Hints:

-Your paper should do more than simply define/ describe the basics of the topic (this could be, at most, ⅓ of the total paper). In other words, it should not read like a Wikipedia entry; all facts, no position.

-The major emphasis must be on the policy decisions, policy impact, and policy adjustments that are related to the topic (⅔ of the total paper or more). In other words, express a point of view and defend it with clear arguments and substantial evidence!

NOTE: ALL WORK WILL BE SUBMITTED VIA GOOGLE CLASSROOM

To join the appropriate class, open your google account and go to Join Class (click on the + symbol at top right of toolbar) using the following class codes:

  • Period 2:
  • Period 4:
  • Period 9:

Research Paper Topics in Economics

  1. Alternative currencies like bitcoins and dogecoins.
  2. The rise of credit: how using credit cards became popular and the impact of easy credit.
  3. College costs: why college tuition has exploded, and how best to pay for it as a student.
  4. Socializing health care: what will it cost us?
  5. Low wages: why Walmart pays so little, and how it affects the economy.
  6. Wall Street crumbling: profile a famous period when the Stock Market collapsed.
  7. Recovering from the Great Recession: how has America bounced back?
  8. Interest rates: why are interest rates increasing on student loans or mortgages?
  9. Outsourcing: the cost of outsourcing jobs in a struggling economy.
  10. Do the benefits of college still outweigh the costs?
  11. Poverty, income and wealth distribution in America.
  12. Is scarcity real? What does it imply: Trade-offs or redistribution of wealth?
  13. Has “market force” lead to good outcomes? Market versus non-market systems.
  14. Market failures and the implications for free market systems.
  15. Has the 2008 collapse of economy passed?
  16. Are people rational and self-interested when making economic decisions?
  17. Health care and the role of prices
  18. The US health care system in an international context
  19. Is environmental pollution a failure of “Market”?
  20. Should there be a limit to the ownership of private property?
  21. Are banks necessary?
  22. Welfare reforms: An analysis of issues
  23. The impact of government spending on economic growth
  24. The concept of “Minimum Wage” How is it decided? How it SHOULD be decided?
  25. Economics of poverty
  26. World Food Crisis: Is the world short of food, or short of “markets”?
  27. Is poverty inevitable?
  28. Trickle Down economic theory and practice.
  29. Was Marx right
  30. Can huge charities solve any problem?
  31. Economics of disease and death
  32. Economics of pharmaceutical industry
  33. Are Keynesian policies a more viable method to deal with the current economic crisis?
  34. What government failures have led to major problems in American economics?
  35. How has Obamacare affected American economics positively/negatively?
  36. What are the benefits of comparative advantage?
  37. Discuss cigarette taxes and American economics—why does the government keep raising taxes on cigarettes and what do they do with these tax revenues?
  38. What was the Kyoto Protocol? How would American economics been affected by it?
  39. The economics of climate change
  40. Discuss stadium building and the effects on city-wide economic earnings, expenditures, do the benefits outweigh the costs and other issues surrounding stadium building.
  41. Discuss current issues in SUVs and the American environment, and the American economy.
  42. Is the current minimum wage fair? How does the minimum wage help or hinder Americans?
  43. Discuss immigration and its effects on America’s economic system.
  44. Discuss issues surrounding the American middle class today economically.
  45. Do foreign investments threaten the American economy?
  46. Discuss American economics and the prison system with an analysis of the positive or negative impact on the system.
  47. The pros and cons of the fossil fuel industry.
  48. The economic impact of switching to renewable energy sources.
  49. The Fed: guardian of the world economy or secret cabal bent on world domination?
  50. Farm subsidies: do the help or hurt?
  51. Corporate welfare
  52. American Health Care Act (ACHA) of 2017