Subject area/course: Macroeconomics
Grade level/band: 11–12
Task Overview:
- The purpose of the task is to reinforce both marginal analysis and rational decision-making, as well as to emphasize the role of simplifying assumptions. Students find the costs and benefits of a college education and calculate the marginal costs and marginal benefits based on this information. Students will write a 2- to 3-page paper that examines the results of their decisions about whether to attend college, and how the effects of changes in assumptions might alter students’ decisions. They should come to the conclusion that, at the median, it is rational to continue to a bachelor’s degree. Students continue the analysis by adding other potential costs and benefits to the analysis, which might alter the decision to continue an education beyond high school.
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