经济学一般分为微观经济学和宏观经济学。前者主要研究的单个经济单位（e.g.单个行业、单个消费者）。而后者则着眼于总量分析，具体的例子包括研究一个国家的年度预算、利息水平以及消费端or供给端的政策分析。
今天我们的范文就是一篇关于微观经济学的Internal Assessment Essay。虽然关于经济学的essay，出题的方式多种多样，但是 IA essay则是最让宾宾头痛的一类。这类essay需要同学首先选取一篇article，这篇文章需要包含现实经济社会中某一个problem或者一个现象，但是文章本身又不能提供过多的对于这个问题的分析。因为，分析这个问题是你的任务。然后，结合经济学理论来对这个problem进行分析，最后提出一到两个解决方案。
此类essay最大的难点就是，你写的文章必须和经济学理论高度结合，并且通篇都需要像一个专业的经济学家那样讲话，这一点在分析各种经济学图表时尤其重要。所以，即便大多数 Internal Assessment Essay的字数要求都不高，其难度确是非常地高。今天就给大家介绍一篇高水准的 Microeconomics IA Essay范文。虽然文章只有八百个字，但是却包含了满满的干货，希望对大家的Essay写作能有所帮助。
首先先来看一下经济学新闻报道！
Smoker Zoran Cacic is having to go cold turkey due to the cigarette price hike.
The annual cigarette price hike has forced one New Zealand smoker to go cold turkey. "I haven't got a choice now, the priceis out of my budget," said Zoran Cacic, a smoker for 32 years. He had not been able to buy a packet since the 10 per cent tax increase rolled into effect on January 1 2017.
In the 32 years since Mr Cacic started smoking he had tried to stop a few times, finding the gum and patches ineffective. "I had cut myself down to 3 to 4 smokes a day, I was slowly weaning myself off from the 20 to 30 cigarettes a day I used to smoke."
He said it had been nice to have the option to stop on his own terms but since the latest price hike, he's had to go cold turkey. "I'm a stubborn person, I refuse to try to find the extra money. I'm sure it's not going to be easy."
An amputee and on the sickness benefit, Mr Cacic's budget just would not allow the price increase for him to continue his weaning off process - "and it's not like my circumstances are going to change in a hurry."
Mr Cacic had been smoking since he was 14 - when society told him it was cool and not lethal. "All the sportsmen, movie stars smoked. No one was saying it was going to give me cancer and I got hooked," he said.
The price hike has been good news for electronic cigarette retailers in New Zealand (Tauranga), who have seen an upswing in converts in the New Year. Ben Kitson, owner of E-Juice Bar on Cameron Rd, said the tax hike and New Year's resolutions were pushing people to an alternative.
"It's been huge, there have been hundreds of people coming in." E-Juice Bar had to move to a bigger premises and take on three new staff members to keep up with the demand in the previous three months. Naked Vapour in Papamoa owner Lia Haskett said they had been busy over the holiday period.
"Price has had an effect on people, it's always a factor in helping people along to make the decision to change over." A staff member at Park Mini Mart said she noticed on December 30 and 31 people bought two packets instead of one, thinking of the price increase ahead.
"Now, people are not very happy. But they know they have to stop sooner or later." She said the price hike made her worried the mart would be robbed as people get desperate for cigarettes -"this is what gave rise to the heinous acts last year." "The punishment should be more for robbery - it's not enough at the moment."
Quitline CEO Andrew Slater said the holiday period saw a big influx of calls. "Quitting smoking is not an easy thing for everyone, most people don't succeed on their first attempt, but you need to keep trying." The Government will be increasing the tax on cigarettes every year for four years, hoping to become smoke free by 2025.
本篇新闻并不长只有六百多字，却是一篇非常适合 IA essay的article，因为此文只是介绍一个新西兰的经济现象，也就是政府提高了烟草的税率，导致了烟草价格的上升，并且进一步引起了部分烟民的戒烟行为和部分烟民转而消费起了电子烟。那么接下来就来就进入正题看看我是如何把这个经济现象和微观经济学理论联系起来的。
Microeconomics Commentary
The article discusses the response of cigarette consumers after the imposition of a cigarette tax in Tauranga, New Zealand. Excise taxes are fees levied on producers and consumers by the government. The tax introduced in the article is ad-valorem tax, which is a fixed percentage of the price of the good or service (Tragakes, 2012). to curb the consumption of cigarette - a demerit good considered unhealthy or unfavorable for consumers. The government is looking after the economic well being of the nation, through present and future economic choices.
In January 1 2017, a 10-percent tax ‘rolled into effect’. The tax is implemented to serve the purpose of bringing about the economic well being through correcting negative externalities - negative and harmful side-effects on the society. Negative externalities of the consumption of cigarettes are lung cancer and other health problems paid in the form of healthcare. Besides, using cigarettes put a constraint on the healthcare system due to the involvement of passive smokers.
In the diagram, MPB curve is greater than the MSC because smoking creates external costs on non-smokers, so the society benefits as a whole less than the smokers themselves. This signals that there is an over allocation of resources to the production of cigarettes and the society would be better off if less than the level of output Qm is produced.
The tax rate of 10% on cigarette results in an upward shift of the supply curve from S1 to S2. This new curve is steeper than the original one because as the price increases, so does the tax per unit. The tax internalizes the negative externalities since it causes a decrease in the level of output. This is based on the ground that fewer smokers can afford cigarettes at price Pt.
“...the price is out of my budget”. Thus, an attempt at achieving economic well-being is being made through forced economic choices. If the tax equals external costs, the MSB curve will intersect MPB curve at the socially optimal level of output, and the quantity produced and consumed drops to the social optimum level. The tax therefore allows allocative efficiency to be achieved.
Since cigarettes and e-cigarettes are close substitutes, or in other words, products that satisfy a similar need and a fall in price of one results in a fall in the demand of the other (Tragakes, 2012), the demand for e-cigarettes is affected. This relationship is explained by the concept of cross-price elasticity (XED) which is a measure of the responsiveness of demand for one good to a change in price of another good (Blink, & Norton, 2012). In this case, “the price hike has resulted in an upswing in converts in the New Year” and “It’s (the demand for e-cigarettes) has been huge”. This proved that the absolute XED value of cigarettes and e-cigarettes is relatively high.
In the diagram, D1 and D2 represents the original and the new demand curves of ecigarettes. When the price for cigarettes increases, there is a rightward shift of the demand curve from D1 to D2 of e-cigarettes. The movement results in the change in quantity demanded and supplied from Q1 to Q2 and an increase in price paid by consumers, which means electronic cigarette retailers earn a greater revenue (Q2× P2 as opposed to Q1× P1) and are better off in this decision. If the smokers recklessly continue substituting smoking to e- cigarettes, the government may begin intervening in the e-cigarettes market too to sustain the economic well being of the nation.
In the short run, the tax imposed is beneficial as its purpose is twofold: bringing about a source of revenue for the government, which is the area ACIH in the diagram, and reducing the consumption of cigarettes. When they are produced less, there will be allocative efficiency as the capital investment and labour can be redistributed to merit goods. This, in the long run, leads to a healthier population with more productive capacity or enhanced economic well-being hence the government can focus their spending on other welfare.
Nevertheless, there are certain difficulties in this approach worthy of consideration. In the short term, the tax induces the underground markets where cigarettes are sold at “people who get desperate for cigarettes”. Additionally, a lower amount of output means fewer workers are needed therefore there may occur some unemployment in the cigarette industry.
Another downside of the approach might be the difficulties in measuring the value of external costs in order to completely eradicate the external cost. A key concept in this commentary is economic well- being. By implementing taxes, the government has brought about certain success to put an end to smoking in Tauranga, but it will also depend upon the consumers choices towards their own economic well-being.
Tragakes, E. (2012). Economics for the IB Diploma Second Edition. Cambridge University Press.
Blink, J., & Norton, I. (2012). IB Economics Course Book: 2nd Edition. Oxford University Press.
