Kulturraumbezogene Wirtschaftsthemen, Homework for May 17th

Please continue to work on your presentation with your partner. (The slides are due on May 27th.)

For homework, please do the following:

- watch the following video on ramen in US prisons and answer these two questions: 1) Why is ramen so valuable in US prisons? 2) What does this data tell us about how markets work?: Why ramen is so valuable in prison - YouTube

- read the article "Consider the Lobster Roll" in the "Markets and cryptocurrency" folder on Ilias and complete the accompanying comprehension questions.

- read through the scans entitled "cryptocurrency" and "Bitcoin" (each have two parts).

- finally, watch this video and answer the questions below Could digital currencies put banks out of business? | The Economist - YouTube

1. What is fractional reserve banking?

2. What challenges are intangible assets presenting banks with? 

3. Why does the video argue that digital currencies issued by governments might be more radical than cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin? 

4. What risk is involved in using digital currencies (think of risk from the perspective of different parties involved)?

(If you're interested in the blockchain technology at the heart of Bitcoin, this is a cool optional video, which is part of Wired magazine's "5 levels" series): Blockchain Expert Explains One Concept in 5 Levels of Difficulty | WIRED - YouTube

(And this is a Conan O'Brien sketch that captures quite nicely how the vast majority of the public has no idea how Bitcoin works: Bitcoin's COO Explains What Bitcoin Is - YouTube Again, this is optional ;-).) 

I've also posted another optional article in the folder this week ("case for bitcoin") that explains cultural perception of the Bitcoin community quite nicely. 

Your optional essay for this week is to answer the following question in an essay of 250-350 words: will digital currencies and cryptocurrencies change the way banking works forever? This essay is due either hand-written or printed-out in class on Tuesday, May 17th.