1. How has the educational system affected the quality of our labor force?
2. Explain the Malthusian theory of population. Is it relevant today anywhere in the world? Explain where and why.
3. How does the American savings rate compare to that of other leading industrial nations? What accounts for the difference?
4. What changes took place during the Industrial Revolution that made possible sustained economic growth?
5. If you were hired as an efficiency consultant by a large corporation, list the measures you might take to raise the productivity of the workers.
6. What is wrong with having tariffs and quotas? Which is the lesser of the two evils, and why?
7. Explain why globalization is good for the United States. What are the drawbacks of globalization for our economy?
8. We run huge trade imbalances with two countries. Explain the cause of the imbalances.
9. What is the economist's case for free trade?
10. What is meant by our balance of payments? Explain what current account and capital account are.
11. What is the gold standard? How does it work?
12. Can there be a deficit on Current Account and a deficit on Capital Account at the same time? Explain.
13. Explain why a currency depreciation leads to an improvement in a nation's balance of trade.
14. How is the exchange rate determined in a freely floating rate system?
15. Foreigners are buying up hundreds of billions of dollars a year in American assets. In what ways should this be a matter of concern to Americans?