ECON1110 – In-The-News Assignment # 1

Assignment Description
Put your name on the front page of the submitted assignment.

This assignment is a test of the student's ability to understand and explain typical economic
concepts we find in our everyday life, viz., in our daily world outside of textbooks. Student
submissions should be presented in a professional-looking, formal format.

This first In-The-News assignment has two parts: i) topic A, and ii) topic B. Students are
required to complete each part using the [not necessarily all] assigned articles, the course
textbook where helpful, and any other optional or supplementary material of the student’s
choosing.

Topic A
Take a look at charts showing trends in the labour force participation rate (LFPR) in Canada and
the US. What has been going on, and why? Talk about both trends over the long term and the
most recent 5-year period. Look at the total LFPR rate, and also the rate by gender. If you have
the data available, also look at the rate LFPR for the prime working age, age 25 – 54, and the
prime-age LFPR by gender. Describe what is happening and try to explain the factors
contributing to the trends you observe.

[Students do themselves a favour by clearly understanding the mathematical formula used to

calculate the labour force participation rate. Although of relatively minor significance, Canada
and the US use slightly different formulas in calculating their respective LFP rates.]

Resources
1) Canada Labor Force Participation Rate, Trading Economics
2) Labour Force Characteristics by Sex and Detailed Age Group, Annual, Stats Can
3) Lots of work but fewer want it as participation rate shrinks: Don Pittis, CBC
4) Labour Force Participation: A Comparison of the United States and Canada, Bank of
Canada
5) Labor Force Participation Rate [US], Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
6) Civilian Labor Force Participation Rate: Men [US], Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
7) Civilian Labor Force Participation Rate: Women [US], Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
8) Is the Continued Rise of Older Americans in the Workforce Necessary for Future
Growth?, Brookings
9) What We Know and Don’t Know About Declining Labor Force Participation: A Review,
The Brookings Institution

Topic B
Ch. 3 talks about economic growth. Interrelated with the concept of economic growth is a
notorious feature of capitalism - its creative destructiveness.

What is this thing called "creative destruction" that characterizes capitalism? From what does it
originate? What are its positive aspects? What are its downsides?

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When we look about the world around us, we see seemingly endless examples of new industries
based on, or old industries adopting, new technology upon which capitalism's creative
destructiveness is commonly based; pick an industry - practically any industry: retail,
entertainment, manufacturing, electricity generation and storage, transportation, medicine, etc.
Pick a few examples of economics' creative destructiveness from near or distant past and profile
them. Then, pick and profile a few instances of what appears to you to be examples of current,
economic, creative destructiveness, "new" technology, or industry, and profile its current, or
anticipated future, impact on our economy and society. Who are apt to be "the winners", and
who are apt to be "the losers"?

Resources
1) Creative Destruction, Michael Cox and Richard Alm, The Concise Encyclopedia of
Economics
2) The real long-term threat to American jobs is tech, not trade deals, John F. Delaney,
MarketWatch, Jan 31, 2017
3) All Jobs Are at Risk, Thomas G. Donlan, Barrons, December 24, 2016
4) Creative Destruction in the Rubber Industry, John Steele Gordon, Barrons, November 19,
2016
5) Amazon Robots, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quWFjS3Ci7A
6) Creative Destruction - The Best Game in Town, Robert Higgs, Mises Institute, August
29, 2013
7) Capitalism, Socialism, & Democracy, Joseph A. Schumpeter, Ch. VII, The Process of
Creative Destruction
8) Disruptive Innovation, Clayton Christensen; article and short video

Technical Aspects
The assignment should meet the following criteria:
 have a cover page
 use 1.5 line spacing, 10-point font, one-inch margins
 use proper spelling and grammar
 use proper citation of sources
 use headings where warranted

Length
Length-wise, each part should fall between one and three pages. The cover page and list of
sources may use additional pages.

Due Date
Sunday, February 27, 2022

Value
10% of final mark

Writing Tips
Write in the Active Voice

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Ideally, we should write ordinary essays in the active – rather than passive – voice. “Mary ate
cereal for breakfast.” is preferable to “Cereal was eaten by Mary for breakfast.” Our mind is
naturally interested in what Mary does, rather than in the fate of the cereal. Generally speaking,
we should banish the passive voice from our essays.

Including References
Students frequently lose marks in assignments due to failing to properly cite referenced
materials. An easy-to-use online tool for creating references is KnightCite. See Using
KnightCite for Keeping Track of Essay References document in the Read Me First section of
D2L. Use APA reference style.

Marking Rubric