The Economics of Technological Change

Term Paper Guidelines (Maximum 3500 words). The term paper should make an argument about the specific issue raised by the circumstances surrounding one of the proposed topics. That is, you should make a claim about the cause and effect relationships that explain the problem, and possible impacts on those affected by it. Your essay will include supportive evidence from the perspective of economic theory and evidence from the literature on this topic. Sources should include a combination of journal articles and books. Reports by international organizations, statistical agencies or research institutions may be cited if they are based upon scholarly research. Wikipedia and other online or hard-copy encyclopedias are not appropriate sources for this course 1. Introduction  Should introduce the topic and explain why this topic is interesting in terms of its economic and/or historical importance  It should also include a brief literature review  What are the key lines of debate, views, etc... presented in a nutshell Thesis Statement or hypothesis  the introduction should end with a thesis statement  it is an assertion about the issue at hand, a claim that you will argue is true  your argument is presented in the context of the existing literature  the rest of the essay will present evidence to support that hypothesis 2. Specification of an Economic Model  this section answers the question, “How do we think about this problem more generally?”  it is where you present the argument(s) of economists, or other theorists, about the cause and effect relationships thought to explain the relationships underlying the problem.  the model may be in the form of mathematics, geometry, a diagram, or words the content of this section should be informed by the readings you have done on the topic as well as your knowledge of economic theory  what approaches have other scholars used?  why do you think this approach is the most appropriate? 3. Evidence and Analysis (Discussion)  this is where you present the evidence you have gathered to support the hypothesis  the evidence may be in the form of written words and statistics gathered from your scholarly sources (secondary evidence)  or it may be in the form of original data or documents from the period (primary evidence) and/or graphs, diagrams, and other images  this section represents the main body of your essay  you will be referring back to the key variables and relationships identified in the model, theory or framework of analysis 4. Conclusion  summarize the results and implications of the analysis- if relevant, suggest further work that would help to resolve the issue 5. Citation of Sources It is essential that you cite your sources properly. Most students approach their academic work with integrity. Unfortunately though, plagiarism is a reality.                                                                                                              

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