Disscussion Questions
1) Social regulation is undertaken with the intention of improving the quality of life. The agencies most people are familiar with include: the Food & Drug Administration (FDA); the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC); the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA); the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).
• Select one of the social regulatory agencies that you feel has affected your life. Explain why you chose this agency and what the impacts to you have been. Do you consider the impact to be positive or negative? Why?
• For the agency you selected, do an Internet search to find a specific example of an action this agency took regarding a specific situation or product. Write a summary of what you found "in your own words" and include the exact URL so we can all visit the webpage. Use quotation marks if any content is used directly from the outside source.
• Opponents to regulation dislike government involvement in the markets. Should the government be involved in social regulation? Why or why not?
Summary
In The News: Antitrust laws were passed to encourage and promote market competition among firms within an industry because competitive markets are thought to better serve consumers. These laws serve to level the playing field between the business and the consumers by controlling or limiting business behavior in terms of pricing ability, etc.
The anti-trust laws and their application are better understood within the context of their intended purpose and circumstances. This also implies that the laws will be enforced differently over time as the interpretation of such phrases as "substantially reduce competition" or "restraint of trade" contained in the laws changes.
1. Go to the Antitrust Case Browser.
2. Read through a few of the cases and report on your favorite case.
• Explain (in your own words) what happened in the case you chose.
• Why did you find the case interesting?
• Did the case seem fair, reasonable and serve the interests of the consumer?
• If you were asked to decide the case, what if anything would you have done differently? Why?
Write a 1-2 page summary of the information and also explain how it relates to what you have just learned
Weekly review
What did you learn? Why is it important? How do the Economics concepts we just covered impact the economy, you and your family, your friends and your employer?
1. Select the top ten most important ideas / concepts you learned in chapters 27 & 28 of your textbook.
2. Number your list and write a three to four sentence explanation of why each idea / concept is important to you and how it affects your life.