Naked Economics: Undressing the Dismal Science

In Chapter 4, Wheelan briefly describes the trade-offs involved in creating a society like the one in the United States, with a higher economic growth rate but a weaker social safety net, versus one in a place like France (lower growth rate, stronger safety net). Which kind of society would you prefer to live in and why? Try to include as many aspects as possible, such as the economy and taxation, housing, health care, education, community, and so on.

The Federal Reserve System described in Chapter 10 was only established in 1913. What functioned in its absence before then? Why was it established?

How did monetary policy fail during the Great Depression in the 1930s? What went wrong? What did economists learn from that depression that was applied to the 2008 financial crisis to help contain it?

Wheelan describes two special interest groups in Chapter 8, mohair farmers and corn farmers, who have received special subsidies that are of dubious necessity. What is another special interest group to receive money from Congress and how much was/is it given? What were the circumstances around its origins? Does it fit the pattern the author describes of being small enough to go largely unnoticed? Do you think this practice is beneficial to politics overall or ought to be stopped? Why?

Analyze yourself in terms of human capital. What is the current state of your personal capital that you offer the job market? Remember, this includes formal education and job skills/experience, but goes well beyond that to include such things as personal qualities or characteristics, self-taught areas of knowledge, social skills, and others. How unique do you think your human capital is compared to others? What plans or options do you have to increase your human capital?

Wheelan mentions that productivity rose steadily throughout the 20th century. What were the main factors that caused this? Who were some of the people involved in improving productivity? You can choose to examine a particular industry in this light or discuss productivity in general across the economy.

When we hear the term “sweatshop,” many of us conjure up images of harsh working conditions at an earlier time in the US, which legislation outlawed over time. In this book, however, Wheelan argues that sweatshops in developing countries are good for their citizens and their economies. What are his reasons for stating this? Is that the opinion of most other economists as well? What does the literature say about this topic?

The last chapter discusses the challenges of development economics, or helping developing nations improve their economies. What do you think is the best way to approach this? What are the responsibilities of wealthy nations in this? Is it better to work through large-scale government programs or smaller grassroots initiatives like microfinancing? Explain why.