Micro Econ AP 2nd Semester 2019

In the video game industry, Electronic Arts has become infamous for its questionable behavior. Despite the gaming industry having low entry costs into the market, EA remains a huge player in the field, with a 22% market share. With hit games like FIFA 19 and Star Wars Battlefront 2, EA remains a major influence in the gaming industry. However, these two games both have the same problem that many have criticized EA for: loot boxes and microtransactions. EA makes about 55% of its revenue from providing services. These services include subscriptions and in-game transactions, prices not covered by one time purchases of games or other merchandise. This can become a problem when people take a close look at what the in-game transactions are used for, and why this is a problem for many consumers. Loot boxes are a system in which players can purchase a reward box using in-game or real currency, and the purchased loot box then provides the player with random items, typically from a specific po...

Tariffs are a hot topic right now especially because of the actions that are being taken in the government to regulate them. Normally, we put tariffs on things because it makes things less competitive which makes more people buy American things. As a result other countries feel more compelled to put tariffs on our goods. To give you an example, lots of companies would like to be a “world power” like General Motors for instance competing with companies like Toyota. General Motors typically sell cars to people in America and occasionally Canada and Europe but for the most part Toyota dominates those regions. The issue with tariffs is that Americans will still buy what they want with little acknowledgement of how much the price goes up because Americans are Americans. However for other countries that is not the case. A pair of jeans in America could cost something like $500 whereas in another country that could add up to someone's weekly salary so of course they wouldn't spend...

BANANAS! We eat them, we sell them, we love them and quite a lot of them at that. Bananas account for 99% of the banana expo market. Want some more fun facts? That adds up to roughly 130 bananas per person in the U.S and 150 bananas per person Canada! How is this an economic problem? Bananas used to be a luxury fruit however because it got so popular the production efficiencies got a lot cheaper and as a result, the banana was exposed to a deadly fungus! In case you didn’t already know, there are more than 1,000 banana varieties in the world. The one that was America’s first favorite is called the “Big Mike” or also widely known as the Gros Michel. To give you a little bit of history, people started to eat bananas roughly around the 1900s where they were being eaten by 15 million people. Not 10 years later that number rose to 40 million people! Unfortunately, this banana strain was exposed to the fungus and eventually was no longer being ...

With Brazil coming out of the 2016 Olympics worse for wear both economically and politically, it begs the question of why countries still bid for hosting the event. The answer is the exact reason Brazil choose to host the 2016 Olympics: the possibility of a post Olympic boom and voter support. While economically, host cities lose more money than they earn, it is seen as a way to achieve political agendas. For example, the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics were done as a display of China's economic and governmental abilities. The goal of the 2012 London Summer Olympics was to revitalize a poorer part of London at a faster rate. And for the upcoming 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, the government hopes that the games will improve the countries' economy. These bets, while not always successful, as seen through the case of Brazils plummeting economy, provide incentive for countries to host the Olympic games. Furthermore, there is enormous support from voters to host the Olympics. Surpris...

Being a pet owner is a lot more than simply rubbing bellies and playing catch. There is a lot of time, money, and energy that goes into making sure you’re pet is doing their best and is living a happy, healthy life. There’s buying food and cleaning after them and buying them toys and treats and giving them enough attention every day and taking them on walks. There are dozens of everyday activities that are changed when you become responsible for a little creature. From chew-toys to check-ups, there is no shortage of things to think about when you first get your pet. About 60% of households have some sort of pet, so the estimated $41 billion that pet owners spend a year on their furry companions is not surprising. We continuously throw money at our animals in order to make sure that they are being taken care of. So, why do so many people have animals if they’re so costly? Well, with all of the challenges that come with having a pet, there are also some really great benefits. ...

It's no surprise that players in the NBA are paid extraordinarily high amounts of money. In the 2017-2018 season, Lebron James made over $33.3 million and Stephen Curry made over $34.7 million. In a single season, that is a lot of money. As some of the best players in the game, they are making the most money, clearly. But what determines if a player is "good" and how much money they deserve to make? Past studies have shown that players are paid based off specific stats: points scored, rebounds, assists, blocks, field goal percentage, and fouls. In addition, players are paid higher amounts of money if they have more experience in the league; the minimum salary increases for each year they have been playing. However, the NBA is evolving. Similar to the documentary we watched in class, teams are focusing much more attention on analytics. Now, coaches and owners can analyze much more data that count towards a player's pay. This includes the 3-point shot and the Holl...

Car salesmen are known for their shady and somewhat manipulative tactics to try to get rid of their stock for the highest price, but what happens when they aren’t able to sell everything? Once the dealership buys a car so they can sell it themselves, it is theirs, they can’t just give it back to the manufacturer. There are several ways that dealerships will try to minimize losses when they overestimate public interest in a model. First, dealerships will trade models if there is one type of car that is selling more in one area than another. For example, a small car might not sell in a rural town very well, whereas a big city might not have enough to supply their demand and so the smaller car is sent to the dealership that can more easily sell it. Another option is to try to sell the car at an auction, which might lower the price than what it was originally priced at. Part of the money from the sale also has to go to the auction house, so this isn’t preferred by dealerships. The ...