It is an essay assignment. Stick to the two-page limit (including citations) and other formatting rules.
First, make sure you’re up to speed with all the readings and lecture notes. Then, please answer the following question:
What caused the 2021-23 inflation spike in Canada? And why did it come as such a surprise?
In order to structure your discussion, you may choose to touch on one or more of the following issues:
(a) The macroeconomic consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic;
(b) Other notable world events during 2021-23;
(c) Comparison with other countries, and with Canadian inflation in previous decades;
(d) Which categories of spending were most negatively affected by the increase in prices? Did any categories see price reductions?
(e) What turned out to be a short-run effect, and what do you think will have longer-lasting consequences?
You will not have space to properly address all of these. You are not required to address any of them. Make your own choice.
You should present a well reasoned argument backed up by facts, as well as economic theory. You will need to do some research and consult reputable sources*, and of course you are required to cite your sources (see below). Use what you have learned about in your economics courses, in readings, and in your own research, but do not be shy about critiquing your sources if you think they get something wrong.
(*) “Reputable” means different things based on context:
For statements of fact (e.g., “increasing the money supply by X% always causes Y% of inflation”), it must be a published paper in an academic or medical journal, a textbook, a statement by an international or government organization like the IMF, or a world-famous newspaper that lists its sources in the article (but then, why don’t you go directly to the sources!). It can’t just be some rando on Twitter, even a famous rando with a good reputation.
For arguments or statements of opinion (e.g., “Former SFU Econ Professor David Andolfatto thinks XYZ will be temporaryLinks to an external site.”), the standards are much looser as long as the attribution is clear. For example, a blog post by a PhD economist or a government press release can be relevant to your argument – just make sure you do not present them as settled facts.
Here are the technical details. Please follow them exactly; it is intentional that they are so strict.
You must cite every source you use for your essay, including assigned readings. You can pick your preferred citation style (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citation_styles#Systems) but be consistent.
The essay must be typed, in font size 11, with line spacing factor 1.5, and page margins of 2.5 cm.
Feel free to include graphs. You can make them with software, or hand-drawn and scanned.
The maximum length is two pages (including citations), plus one extra page for additional graphs. There is no minimum. Papers exceeding these limits will lose points!
Grading will be based on two equal criteria: quality of the argument and quality of the writing. They will be judged according to the rubric posted under “Files”.
