Economic Argument Construction and Defence
8 weeks · 0 milestones
Construct a structured written argument (minimum 1,000 words) on a contested economic question — a real policy debate or empirical dispute, not a textbook exercise. State your position, defend it with evidence, and acknowledge the strongest counterargument. The argument alone is not sufficient proof. Proof requires a documented adversarial exchange: an economist or economics academic poses at least three substantive challenges to your reasoning or evidence; your responses to each challenge are recorded and submitted alongside the original argument. The exchange is a required part of the proof for this outcome.
Milestone map
Milestone map
3 milestones
Select a real contested economic policy question — minimum wage effects on employment, immigration's impact on local wages, carbon pricing versus cap-and-trade, industrial policy versus free trade — and construct a formal economic argument. The argument must: state a specific position, ground it in economic theory (specify the model or mechanism), cite real empirical evidence (not just 'studies show'), anticipate the most important counter-argument, and explain why your position holds despite it.
Proof required
Economic argument document (700+ words) covering: a specific position, the theoretical mechanism, at least two empirical studies cited with their specific findings, the strongest counter-argument, and your response explaining why the position holds.
What gets checked
- Position is specific enough to be falsified by evidence — not 'it's complex and depends on context'
- Theoretical mechanism is named specifically — not 'supply and demand'
- Two empirical studies are cited with their specific findings, not just title and year