AP Macroeconomics Summer Assignment  
       The Unified classroom will become available for you in Mid August.  That is where you will 
       turn in your work.  
       The goal of this assignment is to help you start to think like an economist.  First, familiarize 
       yourself with the Six Core Principles of Economics.  ( See below)   Start paying attention to any 
       story that has an economic angle to it.  At least 3 times during the summer, find a quality article 
       or podcast about an economics topic and complete the assignment below.   
         ●  Each article should be at least 1000 words. (If you’re old like me and you read print 
          magazines, 4-5 pages or so.)  
         ●  If you choose a podcast, it should be >20 minutes long.  
         ●  Suggested sources: Atlantic, New Yorker, Wall Street Journal, Economist, Forbes, 
          Business Week, Planet Money. 
         ●  Each article is worth 10 points.  You can earn 5 bonus points for completing at least 1 in 
          July and at least 1 in August. (I’d prefer you to read throughout the summer and not do it 
          all at the last minute.  This is your incentive.) 
       For each reading you need to: 
       (follow the format of the sample on the next page) 
         1.  Select a DEFINITIVE quote (about 30 words or so) from the reading that you think 
          encompasses the author’s point the best.  The quote should be in quotation marks. 
         2.  State the thesis of the reading in your own words. 
         3.  Provide 3 bullet points (in your own words) that show how the article reflects three 
          different principles of the Core Principles of Economics. 
         4.  Make one connection from the reading to your own economic choices and decisions. 
          How might the information in the article help or hurt your economic future or affect your 
          own consumer choices?  
         5.  Provide the MLA citation for the article, including author, publisher, and date.  
       All of this should not exceed 300 words and should fit onto a half-sheet of standard paper.  
       (Learning to be concise is an important skill!)  
       You should submit THREE completed article summaries to the Unified classroom folder.  
        
        
                     
                 Sample Work 
                 July 21, 2017 
                 APMacro Summer Work #1  
                   
                 “But if we've learned anything in the digital age, a ubiquitous service, whether it's Yahoo or 
                 AOL or BlackBerry, can wither on a dime when the next cool platform comes along. Ask anyone 
                 under 18 (a cohort who view Facebook as their parents' social network): Instagram is that next 
                 platform. [Kevin] Systrom and his lean team are future-proofing Facebook…”  
                   
                 Instagram’s ability to “stay lean” with a small staff and its simple, user-friendly interfaces have 
                 made it the fastest-growing social network platform and wildly appealing to advertisers, 
                 appealing to celebrities like Pope Francis, Steph Curry, and the fashion world as well as the 
                 desirable youth market.  
                     ●   Principle 1: People Choose:  Advertisers have limited dollars and choosing Instagram lets 
                         them reach more consumers with lower costs.  The Nonoo Instagram fashion show drove 
                         more people to her site than ever at 65% less cost than any other promotion.  
                     ●   Principle 3: People respond to incentives: Instagram has been very careful in controlling 
                         the types of ads it allows on its site.  By limiting the “annoying” factor of its ads, users 
                         stay on longer, making them an even more desirable advertising target.  
                     ●   Principle 5: Voluntary trade creates wealth: Facebook acquired Instagram and allows IG 
                         to specialize on its unique model, rather than absorbing it into the Facebook way.  This 
                         has allowed both to grow, and attract a huge percentage of the social media market.  
                   
                 This article connects to my own habits as a consumer of social media.  I tend to prefer Facebook 
                 to Instagram but now that I know a little bit more about how each has different advertising 
                 techniques, I’ll be more aware of them as I spend my time on each platform.  
                  
                 Chaykowski, Kathleen. "Instagram, The $50 Billion Grand Slam Driving Facebook's Future: The Forbes 
                 Cover Story." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 04 Aug. 2016. Web. 19 June 2017.  
                  
                  
                  
                  
                  
                  
                  
                  
                  
                  
                  
                  
                  
                  
                                                                    
                                          
                                                  
                                                          
                                 The 6 Core Economic Principles 
                                                          
                                                                                                                           
                     1.  People Choose: We always want more than we can get and productive resources 
                         (human, natural, capital) are always limited. Therefore, because of this major economic 
                         problem of scarcity, we usually choose the alternative that provides the most benefits 
                         with the least cost.                                                                      
                                                  
                     2.  All Choices Involve Costs: The opportunity cost is the next best alternative you give up 
                         when you make a choice. When we choose one thing, we refuse something else at the 
                         same time.                                                                                
                                                                                           
                     3.  People Respond to Incentives in Predictable Ways: Incentives are actions, awards, or 
                         rewards that determine the choices people make. Incentives can be positive or negative. 
                         When incentives change, people change their behaviors in predictable ways.                
                                                                                                                   
                                                                   
                     4.  Economic Systems Influence Individual Choices and Incentives: People cooperate and 
                         govern their actions through both written and unwritten rules that determine methods of 
                         allocating scarce resources. These rules determine what is produced, how it is 
                         produced, and for whom it is produced. As the rules change, so do individual choices, 
                         incentives, and behavior.                                                                 
                                                                                           
                     5.  Voluntary Trade Creates Wealth: People specialize in the production of certain goods 
                         and services because they expect to gain from it. People trade what they produce with 
                         other people when they think they can gain something from the exchange. Some 
                         benefits of voluntary trade include higher standards of living and broader choices of 
                         goods and services.                                                                       
                                                                                                   
                     6.  The Consequences of Choices Lie in the Future: Economists believe that the cost and 
                         benefits of decision making appear in the future, since it is only the future that we can 
                         influence. Sometimes our choices can lead to unintended consequences.