Whenever government makes a policy decision, such as minimum wage law, cigarettes tax, Healthcare, rent control, etc., that decision affects people and likely the economy as a whole. The impact can be social, such as the rent control that may alter your plans about where to go to school or work. The impact may be environmental, such as the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards, that may make firms think twice or more before making the production decisions. The impact could also be economic. For example, the sales tax on cigarettes gives you an incentive not to smoke much. These examples of laws and policies have an economic impact on individuals’ and firms’ behavior, upon which the government makes decisions to spend taxpayers’ money.

For the final paper, you will perform some economic analysis and use your newfound vocabulary and skills to make a recommendation based on your chosen public issues. Your paper should analyze a public policy problem/an observed public economic phenomenon using the tools of economic analysis learned in the course. The paper should present a problem, analyze it from the perspective of economics, and provide a recommendation for a policymaker. Your paper should focus on the economic implications of the problem. In your recommendation, you can consider other factors, but the focus should be economic analysis (e.g., demand-supply analysis, cost-benefit analysis, efficiency vs. equity, etc.). Be sure to integrate into the discussion on how the Christian worldview influences your analysis and recommendation.