HL IB Economics
The Marshall Lerner Condition and the J Curve
Dec 11th
1) A good web page, by http://welkerswikinomics.com:
The Marshall-Lerner Condition, the J-curve, and the US trade deficit
2) A useful video via the same author’s http://www.econclassroom.com:
3) A chance for you to play around with the Marshall Lerner condition yourself:
http://www.eco.rug.nl/~gigengack/ge/ML_Interactive/ML_Interactive.htm
Purchasing Power Parity
Dec 7th
Purchasing Power Parity by Mindbitesdotcom. This is an incomplete taster / ad for a course you have to subscribe to, but is still useful as is stands, provided you add to your understanding with other resources.
15: PURCHASING POWER PARITY by InformedTrades:
2 Useful web sites:
http://economics.about.com/cs/money/a/purchasingpower.htm
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-purchasing-power-parity-theory.htm
Questions:
1) What is PPP and explain how it works using a hypothetical example?
2) Evaluate the usefulness of PPP theory when applied to the real world.
A Song about Elasticity
Oct 28th
Some people have a lot of time on their hands, but we should sometimes be grateful for that … this song summing up the different elasticities is worth a listen (you never know, it might even help you revise this particular topic …)
Can the demand curve really slope upwards?
Sep 27th
Some rights reserved by Marshall Astor – Food Pornographer
Once you have learned about the theory behind Giffen goods, Veblen goods, and the role of expectations in theoretically causing an upwards sloping demand curves, it is well worth reading these articles:
As price goes up, so does demand – The Economist July 2007
How Rat Meat Becomes a Rarity – DANIEL HAMERMESH – NY Times
Remember: in IB Economics, it is always useful to be prepared to evaluate the assumptions behind the theory. Do you still accept that the demand curve can slope upwards? Why / why not? What assumptions have been made?
