Economic Research and Bibliography

Assignment 1
Due Date
Tuesday, October 11th, 2022 (end of day)
Final Mark Weight
This assignment will make up 20% of your final mark
Instructions
Each student will research an economic topic of their choice by:
• Choosing a topic/issue related to the course material
• Finding relevant articles from electronic or printed sources such as newspapers, journals,
websites, and magazines and;
• Writing a summary of the issue they’ve chosen (in your own words).
For further guidance, a sample summary is included below. This was submitted by a student in a
past semester and offers an example of what an A+ summary might look like.
Length
The report should be roughly 800 words.
Research and Bibliography
Sources must be cited using APA style. It’s important to choose reputable sources. Books are
always safe. When using information from a website, use your own judgement to decide if it is
acceptable. Professional websites like newspapers, newsmagazines or encyclopaedias are good
examples.
*Review the academic integrity aids on our Blackboard site.
*Review the website (http://library.humber.ca/copyright-students) for further clarity about
maintaining academic integrity.
*The course readings can be used as a source, but students must also use external sources.
Exceeds Standard Meets Standard Nearly Meets Standard Does Not Meet Standard
Out of 50 marks 43-50 marks 36-42 marks 25-35 marks 0-24 marks
Writing Chosen economic issue is
explained in great detail.
Chosen economic issue is
explained in good detail.
Chosen economic issue is
explained in some detail.
Chosen economic issue is
explained with little detail.
Out of 15 marks 13-15 marks 11-12 marks 8-10 marks 0-7 marks
Evidence of Research Four or more appropriate
external sources were used.
Three appropriate external
sources were used.
There are some issues with
the external sources.
There are serious issues
with the external sources.
Out of 15 marks 13-15 marks 10-12 marks 1-9 marks 0 marks
Bibliography
Includes a full bibliography
(works cited are in APA
style and in-text citations
are used).
There are minor issues with
the bibliography.
There are serious issues
with the bibliography.
No bibliography was
included.
Out of 20 marks 17-20 marks 13-16 marks 10-12 marks 0-9 marks
Style and Grammar
The assignment is
presented in a neat, clear,
organized fashion that is
easy to read.
The assignment is
presented in a neat and
organized fashion that is
usually easy to read.
The assignment has some
issues with neatness,
organization and/or
readability.
The assignment appears
sloppy, unorganized and/or
there are serious spelling
and grammatical problems.
SAMPLE SUMMARY
Minimum Wage Increase a Necessity for Canada
The minimum wage is a greatly debated issue amongst Canadians. While some
argue that a minimum wage increase is necessary for lower income earners to be able to
make a decent living, the other side of the coin argues that an increase in minimum wage
will lead to greater prices and fewer jobs.
There are several arguments made against increasing minimum wage in Canada,
both looking out for the benefit of employers and employees. Minimum wages can impact
small businesses by increasing their employee costs, which in turn leads to larger prices,
which will cause a negative reaction for consumers, decreasing business (Vitez, 2016).
Some businesses may not be able to afford their employees in this case, which could lead to
layoffs. Minimum wage increases can also distort the free market economies, which are
usually driven by the theory of supply and demand. An increase in minimum wage would
decrease demand for employees from companies (Vitez, 2016).
Not all businesses are against raising minimum wage. In Alberta, the minimum wage
($12.20/hr) is moving closer to the living wage, which is calculated at $17.29 per hour in
Calgary (Bakx, 2016). Lindsey Laberege of Connect First Credit Union says “We didn’t want
our employees having to make difficult decisions every day around the basic necessities of
daily living such as food or rent” (Bakx, 2016). Devon Goss, co-founder of BluPlanet
Recycling believes that providing a living wage helps attract better employees, regardless of
the state of economy. His company has 15 employees and expect to grow to 25 next year
(Bakx, 2016). Increasing minimum wage also shows reduced turnover, leading to more
stable jobs (“Minimum wage stats show we need $15 and fairness across Canada | Canadian
Labour Congress”, 2016). Additionally, an increase in minimum wage doesn’t necessarily
mean lower employment either. In regions that implemented higher minimum wage
(including San Francisco and New Jersey) showed little to no impact on the overall rates of
employment (Kong, 2016).
Ontario recently saw an increase of minimum wage to $11.40 an hour, however the
rate in Canada varies from province to province, as high as $13.00 in Nunavut to as low as
$10.50 in Newfoundland and Labrador (Pittis, 2016). Unfortunately minimum-wage
earners still remain below the cost of living in Canada’s expensive cities, and research has
shown the disparity between low income earners and the wealthy (Pittis, 2016). Dezso
Horvath, dean of York University’s Schulich School of Business says: “If you look at the U.S.
and Britain, they are [rich world] countries with the largest educational and income
inequalities… Whereas Sweden, Switzerland and all those, there are no really poor people
but neither are there billionaires of really large scale” and he adds that for these European
countries it’s paying off because Economic growth in Sweden is at 3.5%, higher than any
country but China and more equal countries are also winners in innovation (Pittis, 2016).
There were 1,253,000 workers earning the primary minimum wage or less in 2015.
About 25 percent (over 4 million) of all workers in Canada also made $15 an hour or less.
(“Minimum wage stats show we need $15 and fairness across Canada | Canadian Labour
Congress”, 2016). An increase in minimum wage is an important tool to decrease poverty
and income inequality. In Vancouver, a person making $10.45 per hour, full-time, full-year
remains $5,441 below the poverty line for a single person. An increase to $15 per hour
would lift that worker over the poverty line (Green, 2015).
In conclusion, it is necessary for Canada to increase its minimum wage rates a
sizeable amount to provide lower earning workers with the ability to make a decent living.
Research shows that an increase to the minimum wage is not as harmful as those against it
try to argue. Many businesses are on board for the idea as it is not only a good moral choice,
but one that could provide them with lower turnovers and better employees. It will reduce
the gap between the poor and the rich, who are usually the ones benefitting from lower
employee costs. Additionally, it could provide a great benefit to the Canadian economy as
well. As shown, lower turnovers leads to lower unemployment and an increase in minimum
wage would likely not lead to a great loss of employees. Countries who implement greater
minimum wages and attempt to reduce the gap between the wealthy and poor also see
greater innovation and are currently thriving.
Bibliography
Pittis, D. (2016). No shortage of low-wage work in expensive cities, but it’s bad for the
economy: Don Pittis. CBC News. Retrieved 10 October 2016, from
http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/minimum-wage-economic-success-1.3792225
Vitez, O. (2016). Problems With Minimum Wage Increases. Smallbusiness.chron.com.
Retrieved 10 October 2016, from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/problems-minimumwage-increases-2691.html
Bakx, K. (2016). Why some businesses favour raising the minimum wage. CBC News.
Retrieved 10 October 2016, from http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/alberta-minimumwage-business-support-1.3773162
Kong, J. (2016). A $15 Minimum Wage Is a Step Towards a More Fair Canada. The Huffington
Post. Retrieved 10 October 2016, from http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/justin-kong/federalminimum-wage_b_8168128.html
Minimum wage stats show we need $15 and fairness across Canada | Canadian Labour
Congress. (2016). Canadianlabour.ca. Retrieved 10 October 2016, from
http://canadianlabour.ca/news/news-archive/minimum-wage-stats-show-we-need-15-
and-fairness-across-canada
Green, D. (2015). The case for increasing the minimum wage (pp. 1-12).