Assignment paper – Economics Issues of the Underground Economy
Once you have developed a sufficient understanding of the background, I would like you to write a 2-3 page description of the public policy issues involved. Please use the structure presented at the end of the last lecture – the one that I am recommending you use to guide your group presentations. Here is a summary of the structure introduced in class:
What? Describe the basic issue to be discussed; if the underground activity arose because of a governmental restriction, mention that here;
When? Present a brief background and some history – describe the evolution of the problem and the emergence of the UG business;
Who? Introduce the suppliers (firms or organizations providing the good or service) and the customers (purchasers of the good of service); mention any other stakeholders involved – government, non-profits, churches, the education establishment, etc;
How? Discuss the mechanics of operation of this UG activity, as well as the ways in which payments are made;
Where? Is this an activity that operates locally, nationally, globally? Are there features that restrict it to certain places?
Why? Offer a judgment about why this is an important issue to be understood, worked on, and hopefully solved; if possible, make recommendations about approaches to ameliorating or eliminating the issue.
For this first assignment, you have two choices for format: Word document Carmen/Canvas upload (.doc format) or typewritten paper document. Subsequent homework submissions are likely to be upload only, to allow use of the TurnItIn integrity checking system.
