PAPER 1:

Read one of the following three books:

• Bernstein, William J. (2004), The Birth of Plenty:  How the Prosperity of the Modern World was Created.
• De Soto, Hernando (2003), The Mystery of Capital: Why Capitalism Triumphs in the West and Fails Everywhere Else.
• Friedman, Thomas (2000), The Lexus and the Olive Tree:  Understanding Globalization.
• Olson, Mancur (2000), Power and Prosperity.

First, explain the main thesis of the book, and what it implies for the role and size of government, and its institutions and policies, in determining economic growth.  In particular, consider policies related to the financial sector.  Second, in the context of your chosen book, explain why government policies -- especially financial policies -- can be either growth-retarding or growth-enhancing.  Third, explain how the political system affects whether government policy is more likely to be growth-retarding or growth-enhancing.  Finally, choose a country that is not covered in either the textbook or your chosen book, do some research on its economy, and show how this country's experience either demonstrates or contradicts your argument.

If you are unfamiliar with library sources, start at http://www.knowledgecenter.unr.edu/.  The Articles and Websites link will take you to search engines you can use with a UNR account (Econlit is the best one for economics), and the library has online subscriptions to many, many journals. Books and professional magazines are also recommended.  Do not rely too much on internet sources, unless they are from the website of a reputable source (e.g., the World Bank), since websites do not require any editing filter to ensure some responsibility for accuracy or reliability. Wikipedia, for example, can sometimes point you in the right direction but is not considered a reliable source by scholars, and there are many advocacy websites that are simply wrong.

Due Date:  Tuesday, October 28 2008.  Late papers will lose one full grade per week (prorated).

Academic Dishonesty:

The university has a strict policy against academic dishonesty, and this includes plagiarism.  I strongly support this policy. Write with your own words, and if you need to use more than a few words from somebody else you must quote them and cite your source.  When you are using somebody else's ideas and information, you must still cite them even if you have used your own words.

To help prevent plagiarism, I will run your paper through plagiarism-checking software.  You are required to turn in both a paper hardcopy of your paper, along with an electronic copy (Word, Wordperfect, or even ASCII text) on a CD or a 3.5" diskette.  In some circumstances I may accept your file as an attachment to an e-mail.  I will check that the file and the paper are exact matches.  Be sure to put your name on your disk, and I will try to return it when I'm done.

Every semester I catch somebody cheating.  At a minimum, I will fail you on the assignment, and if the plagiarism is blatant I will fail you in the course.  I will also report the matter to the Office of Student Judicial Affairs, and if the plagiarism is particularly egregious or if you are a repeat offender, they may even expell you from the university. Also, academic dishonesty makes you ineligible for future scholarships.

I am reasonable, as long as you are making a good effort at citing your sources, and a mere phrase here and there will not necessarily set off alarm bells.  You don't have to go overboard and cite the same source over and over within the same paragraph, as long as it is apparent that you are giving appropriate credit where credit is due.  But lifting somebody else's work, using their words or stealing their ideas without proper attribution, is plagiarism.  Getting material off the internet, copying sentences out of a book without using quotation marks, or even buying a paper from a "research service" is dangerous and stupid.  It is better that you drop out of school now to save us all the trouble.

Format:

The paper should be approximately seven pages long, not including the cover page and any references or tables.  This is just a target, and your paper can be a little bigger or smaller as needs be.  This paper must be typewritten and double-spaced, with one-inch margins all around the text, and I prefer a normal font, like 12-point Times New Roman or something similar.  It is silly to play with the margins or the fonts just to make it fit the page target.

Your paper should have a cover page that has your name, my class, the date, the title, and a one-paragraph abstract that summarizes your paper.  You should have an introduction that begins on page 1, and a conclusion at the end.  Use section headings to clarify your paper's organization.  Put page numbers at the bottom, but do not number the cover page and abstract, your references page, or any endnotes (not footnotes) if you have them.  Any figures or tables should each be put on their own page at the back of the paper, and they should be referred to in the text as Figure 1 or Table 4, for example.  Again, the cover page, references, and tables are not numbered, and are not included in the page count.

 I have pet peeves you should know about. Some are careless errors, and some are issues of preference.

• "It's" means "it is," while "its" is possessive.  
• "Lose" is a verb (pronounced like "looze"), while "loose" is an adjective (with a "s" sound, not a "z").
• Paragraphs need to hold together, not be too long or too short (i.e, more than a sentence, less than a page).  The first sentence should give the reader some clue of what the paragraph is about. 
• Vary your sentences a little for more interesting reading. 
• Your paper should not ramble, and should make logical sense. 
• Learn to use colons and semicolons properly. For example, a semicolon separates two stand-alone sentences making a similar point.  
• In the U.S., commas and periods go within the ending quote mark (though not if there is a citation at the end of the sentence). 
• Don't quote unless the quote is just too good to pass up; instead, learn to paraphrase. 
• All sentences must have, at minimum, a subject and a verb.  
• I don't like too many exclamation points! 

I have more peeves that I will remember when I read your papers.  Use the College Handbook or similar source for a style guide.  If they still exist, you can use the Writing Center for help.  Ask a friend who speaks English well to read your paper over.

Finally, this is NOT an opinion paper, and it is not a creative writing project!  As much as possible, you are expected to base your paper on material you have studied for this class, or on outside research, and not base it on opinions that you had coming into this class.  I like papers that try to be objective, and I suggest you avoid being flip, funny or sarcastic.

Back Up! 

Every semester somebody forgets to back up their document, and they lose it the night before it is due when a virus hits them or their computer crashes.  I don't know how, but your computer seems to know when you are stressed.  Make a second copy on another diskette, for security.

Citations and References:

This paper requires you to read assigned readings as well as some additional material from the library.  You need to cite all sources you use in your paper, and list your references alphabetically after your conclusion, not in footnotes.  Use single-spaced endnotes only to explain points in more detail, if you feel it is necessary and do not want to clutter the text.  Again, do not use endnotes (or footnotes) for citations of your references.

When you do outside research, rely primarily on books, articles in professional and business journals, and articles in academic publications.  Minimize your reliance on unpublished internet sources; though these sources can be more current, they do not go through any review or editing process to determine whether their arguments are valid or substantiated by evidence.  Online magazines or journals, or official institutional websites, are OK though not preferred; you must avoid using blogs or websites written by random kooks or their kooky organizations.

Citations briefly list your sources in the relevant parts of your text, and references list the full information on how to find those sources.  References are included at the end of the paper, in a separate section called References.

I want you to use APA style for your references and citations, as much as possible.  The library has information on this at  http://www.library.unr.edu/depts/reference/webref/style.html#APA, and Long Island University has a helpful website at http://www.liu.edu/CWIS/CWP/library/workshop/citapa.htm.

Citations:

Cite your sources by surname(s), not title, journal, or url.  In your citations, put the surname(s) and the year sepated by a comma, in parentheses.  For example, the seven references listed below would be cited in the text as (Olson, 2000), (Cargill & Parker, 2003), (Parker, 1995), (Banks, Parker, & Wendel, 2001), (Economist, 1997), (World Bank, 1993), and (IMF, 2001).  In citations and references, you may use the ampersand "&" for multiple authors, but in text use "and" instead.  Only use first names in the text if the person is the subject, not the source.

Page numbers are appropriate for a quote and for a citation from a book, but are not necessary for an idea from a journal article.  You may use a colon before the page number(s), if appropriate, instead of the "pp." abbreviation, e.g., (Olson, 2000: 68-69).  

For sources with more than two authors, cite all authors the first time and then later use "et al." (et alia, Latin for "and others"), though if there are more than three you can use "et al." the first time.  For example, source (4) below would be cited as (Bhattacharyya, et al., 1994).  If you are citing two sources with the same author(s) and year, cite and reference them with the year plus a, b, c, ..., e.g., (Parker, 1995a) and (Parker, 1995b). If the paper is not yet published, you might use the word "forthcoming" instead.  Again, you should use full names for historical figures, but only last names for your research sources.

A citation generally goes at the end of the sentence or phrase, before the ending punctuation, as in:

Schumpeter emphasized the role of entrepreneurship in driving economic development (Gregory & Stuart, 1995: 66).

If you quote and then cite, the end-quote marks go before the citation, which goes before the ending punctuation:

Property ownership is a "complex matter... which extend[s] beyond mere physical property" (Kennett, 2004: 118).

If you already mention the author in the text there is no need to repeat the name again, as in:

Hayek (1945) argued that prices served to convey information.

Sometimes you can combine this into an easier-to-read sentence.  For example, consider this sentence:

"In fact, in any society with autocratic governments, an autocrat with the same incentives as a roving bandit is bound to appear sooner or later" (Olson, 2000: 27).

And then rephrase this as:

Olson (2000: 27) argues that, "in any society with autocratic governments, an autocrat with the same incentives as a roving bandit is bound to appear sooner or later."

Of course, you might also consider just paraphrasing it.

References:

All citations must be listed alphabetically  in a bibliographic section entitled "References."  All sources in your references must be cited somewhere in the text.

It is not necessary to cite the same source excessively, especially if it is clear that it is a continuation of the same argument.  Again, use endnotes to explain points in more detail if necessary, but not to cite sources, and include these in a section at the end entitled "Notes".  I encourage you to cite relevant material from the assigned texts.  Finally, you should use quotes sparingly, instead paraphrasing where possible then citing the source of the idea.  Extended quotes should be single spaced and indented, without quote marks.

References go on a separate page entitled References, and you should list your sources by surname alphabetically and unnumbered.  Here are seven sample references, for (1) a book, (2) an article in an edited book, (3) an article in a journal, (4) multiple authors, (5) a newpaper article where no author name is listed, (6) institutional author, and (7) an internet source where the print version is not available.  Books and journals are underlined (you may use italics instead of underlines if you wish), while articles are in quotes (or sometimes in just normal text).

Olson, Mancur (2000), Power and Prosperity (Basic Books).

Cargill, Thomas F., & Elliott Parker (2003), "Japanese economic structures and finance:  Characteristics and causes of the current slowdown," in Structural Foundations of International Finance, edited by P.C. Padoan, P.  Brenton, & G. Boyd: chapter 9 (Edward Elgar Publishing, Inc.).

Parker, Elliott (1995), "Shadow factor price convergence and the response of Chinese state-owned construction enterprises to reform," Journal of Comparative Economics 21(1): 54-81.

Banks, Dwayne, Elliott Parker, & Jeanne Wendel (2001), "Strategic interaction among hospitals and nursing facilities:  The efficiency effects of payment systems and vertical integration," Health Economics 10(2): 119-134.

Economist (1997), "Banking in emerging markets" (April 12): 34-37.

World Bank (1993), The East Asian Miracle: Economic Growth and Public Policy (New York, NY: Oxford University Press).

IMF (International Monetary Fund, 2001), International Capital Markets: Developments, Prospects, and Key Policy Issues <http://www.imf.org/ external/ pubs/ ft/ icm/ 2001/ 01/ eng/ index.htm>.

Note that in citing urls, it is a good idea to put spaces in the address so that it breaks to a new line more easily.

Your class lecture notes can simply be cited as (Parker, 2008) and referenced generically as:

Parker, Elliott (2008), ECON 305 lecture notes.

If you are relying on my written notes, however, you would need to reference it as:

Parker, Elliott (2000), "Lecture Notes: Fundamentals of the Neoclassical Framework," <http://unr.edu/ homepage/ elliottp/ ec301/ ec301s2000lec4.html>.  {Here you can deduce the date from the address, but if you can't find it anywhere use the date you accessed the data.}

Grading:

Your paper will be graded for grammar, spelling, clarity, logic, and flow as well as accuracy and originality of content.  Have somebody read it over for typographical errors and things that just don't make sense.  Don't turn in a rough draft, turn in a polished document.  I prefer that you write this paper in a professional tone, and avoid being flippant.  Originality matters, but it is an issue of content and how you put together material you have learned, not an issue of creative style.  A good paper will be interesting and original, and will make a logical argument that addresses the assigned topic.  A good paper will be well-organized and well-written, will follow the format requested above, and will also demonstrate that the writer has a good grasp on the material.  A good paper will be analytical, will back up potentially controversial or unusual statements with evidence, and will make a solid case.  Never say a cop-out statement like "I think that...," since your opinions are either irrelevant or implied by the fact that you wrote the paper.

Here is a sample grading sheet from Spring 2002:

Comparative Economic Systems  Paper 1 Grading Sheet Student _________________ Grade   ______ Topic:  What are the theoretically appropriate roles of government in a market (capitalist) economy? Consider and explain the pros and cons of government intervention versus laissez faire. Next, contrast this discussion with the theoretical role of government in a socialist economy based on Marxist-Leninist principles. Be sure to consider the views expressed in Mancur Olson's Power and Prosperity on this topic. Finally, choose one of the countries in Part III of the Schedule of Readings and Lectures, and use it as an example to illustrate your theoretical discussion.  Topic:    Focus on general theory of government's role 4.....3.....2.....1.....0    Role of Government intervention: laissez faire 4.....3.....2.....1.....0    Role of Government intervention: market failure 4.....3.....2.....1.....0    Role of Government intervention: socialism 4.....3.....2.....1.....0    Appropriate use of Olson's theory 4.....3.....2.....1.....0    Appropriate country 4.....3.....2.....1.....0    Appropriate examples from chosen country 4.....3.....2.....1.....0 Content:    Originality 4.....3.....2.....1.....0    Clarity and Logic 4.....3.....2.....1.....0    Organization 4.....3.....2.....1.....0    Accuracy 4.....3.....2.....1.....0    Grammar 4.....3.....2.....1.....0    Spelling 4.....3.....2.....1.....0    Appropriate use of other assigned readings  4.....3.....2.....1.....0    Additional appropriate sources  4.....3.....2.....1.....0 Format:    Length  ___    cover page with abstract  y  /  n    figures or tables  ___    page numbers  y  /  n    Section titles  y  /  n    Appropriate font and margins  y  /  n    Appropriate citation style  4.....3.....2.....1.....0    Appropriate reference style  4.....3.....2.....1.....0    Internet source style  4.....3.....2.....1.....0.....N/A