Economic Blog/Podcast/Twitter Review and Analysis Paper Assignment

One of the skills I hope you gain in this class is the ability to understand economics (at an                    appropriate introductory level), to be able to evaluate the economic analysis/statements of               economists or politicians or news analysts (again at an appropriate level), and to be able to                communicate that understanding to me (and your friends and family). This assignment is designed to a) introduce you to economists and other analysts doing exactly that set oftasks on their blogs    or podcasts or Twitter accounts, and b) to give you a chance to do some of that evaluation and          communication yourself, at least in terms of explaining what someone else has communicated and  analysed. In many ways, this is like a mini-book review. And it is good practice for the final exam: being able to explain and analyze an economic concept is a key skill in this class.

Jump to the following sections:

A. Your Task In This Assignment 1

B. Eligible Economics Blogs, Podcasts and Twitter Accounts 4

C. What if I want to Follow Someone on Twitter 5

D. Blog/Podcast/Twitter Account Evaluation Rubric 6

E. Sample Papers and Marking Guidelines 8

A. Your Task In This Assignment

Follow one economics blog or podcast or Twitter account (from the approved list found below) for the period from November 1st, 2021 to April 11th, 2022 (NOTE these dates).  You do NOT need to read every single post or listen to every single podcast carefully (some ofthese

bloggers/podcasters have too much time on their hands), but you should read a good sample, and at least 5 entries need to be read carefully.

•    As noted below, you may also follow one ofthe approved Twitter accounts IF you are familiar    with Twitter. The most interesting Canadian economists with the best Canadian-oriented topics are best followed on Twitter.

•    Many of the blogs or podcasts in question also have Twitter accounts, which are useful to           follow because they announce on Twitter when they have a new podcast or blog posting. And   sometimes (e.g. Noah Smith), they present their Blog entries broken down into smaller chunks in tweets.

•    Some individuals (e.g. Paul Krugman, Barry Ritholz, but also others) do not per se have a blog,

but instead have regular publications of short articles on the web that are like a blog. You must do THREE things for this paper:

By January 28th: Tell me via email which blog or podcast or Twitter account you are following.      Name of the blog or podcast or Twitter account, web address or Twitter handle, and the author or authors.

By March 4th (worth 5% of your final grade in the course): Give me a 2- or 3-page type-written paper (submitted electronically by midnight on March 4th) that gives:

•    The name of the blog or podcast or Twitter account, the web address or Twitter handle, and the author or authors (including any professional affiliations they have).

•    A preliminary list of 2 blog entries or podcasts (for Twitter accounts, they need to be blog            entries that came from the Twitter accounts OR substantive multi-part Tweets OR Tweets from a conversation between the author and others), including for each entry/podcast the title and the URL and the date for the entry/podcast or twitter conversation/thread/Tweetstorm.

•    ALSO, a 3-4 sentence summary (in your own words) ofwhat the entry is about which includes a 1-sentence description of the economic concept(s) illustrated in the entry for each of the 2 entries.

•    A one-paragraph initial description (not an evaluation) of the blog/podcast/Twitter account    and its writer (or writers). Who is doing the writing? What general topics do they seem to        write about? Do they tell us why they are doing this writing? Do not just cut and paste from their website, look at what they have written about and spend a little time thinking about it, and put it in your own words.

•    This entire submission should NOT exceed 3-4 pages. See below for the requirements on

naming the paper, font size, spacing, etc.

• Please note I will ONLY accept PDF copies of this assignment, and ONLY if they are submitted via the assignment webpage (NOT by email). I will not mark if it is not

uploaded and not a PDF.

•    You can only hand in an assignment late with an acceptable excuse (that means something beyond your control happens to you, but please talk to me if you have an issue), authorized by me in advance if possible. Otherwise, late assignments lose 10% for the first 48 hours,        another 10% for the next 24 hours, and another 10% for another 24 hours. After 96 hours (4 days), I will not accept a late assignment unless I have agreed to an acceptable excuse.

By April 11th (worth 20% of your final grade in the course): Upload your final overall analysis evaluating the blog or podcast or Twitter account and the entries you have chosen, which          includes:

•    A title page with your name and SID, the name of the blog or podcast or Twitter account, the   web address or Twitter handle, and the author or authors (including any professional               affiliations they have). I will deduct marks if your name is not on the title page, and your

name should be in the name of the paper. Do not name your paper "Blog assignment.pdf", or you will lose marks. Suggestion: "Econ202_yourname_blog part 2.pdf"

•    A list of FIVE (5) blog/podcast/twitter entries, including for each entry the title, and a 3-4        sentence summary (in your own words) of what the entry is about, and the URL AND the date for the entry. (The 5 entries would normally include the 2 entries from your March 4th entry    above.)

•    Pick ONE (hopefully insightful and interesting) blog entry or podcast or multi-part Tweet or      Twitter conversation/thread, and describe it in more detail (1-2 pages). What was the topic of  the blog entry, and why did you think it worthwhile to describe it (interesting, relevant,               insightful, wrong economically)? What economic concept or concepts are illustrated in the blog entry? How are they related to concepts we have learned in this class? What kind of  reaction did this entry get? How many comments were posted to this blog, and where they         positive? (Did others reply to the Tweet/blog/podcast entry, was it retweeted, was it favorited by anyone, was it picked up and referenced by any other blogs or podcasts or  internet sites, or did anyone tweet about it?) What do you think about the economics of the entry, was it insightful, was it good economic analysis or is there something about it that looks wrong to you? Why?

•    Give a 2-3 page overview of the blog/podcast/twitter account, as noted in the evaluation rubric found at the end of this PDF. Note that this is not a major research essay, so do not go nuts with external research. However, you should touch on the following (see the rubric for      more details):

Economic themes; the writer(s) political/economic beliefs; reach or influence of the

blog/podcast or the tweeter; quality of the tweeter/blogger/podcaster's writing/exposition.

• Total: 6-9 pages plus any references you use (IF you use them). DO NOT exceed 10 pages, or you will lose marks.

•    NOTE: your writing does not have to be pristine, I am looking for coherent thoughts and           analysis more than perfect sentences. This is NOT an English 100 essay! I will not mark for      grammar and spelling, unless your paper becomes incoherent. However, please take the time to reread and rewrite it at least once! BUT, part of your grade depends on coherent sentences/paragraphs and good arguments. Check for spelling/grammar (use a

spellcheck), check the logic/flow of your paragraphs and sections.

•    Take a look at Section C of the How to Succeed in Economics 202 webpage for help in writing AND in properly referencing the paper..

• Do NOT fiddle with the double spacing or the margins or the font sizes to make your paper larger or smaller. Use 11-12 point font (I have 64-year old eyes, no smaller font), 1 inch margins, and use 1.5 spacing.

•    You can only hand in an assignment late with an acceptable excuse (that means something beyond your control happens to you, but please talk to me ASAP if you have an issue),                authorized by me in advance if possible. Otherwise, late assignments lose 10% for the first 48    hours, another 10% for the next 24 hours, and another 10% for another 24 hours. After 96         hours (4 days), I will not accept a late assignment unless I have agreed to an acceptable excuse.

•    See the FAQ page on how to upload the paper. You must upload your paper to the assignment site (I will NOT accept emailed papers), and you MUST upload a PDF.

I will not mark it unless it is uploaded and it must be a PDF. Please see the FAQ page on how to make a PDF from a word doc if you are not sure how to do that.