Final Exam Results
Great job on your final exams! Email me if you want to know your score on the final and your grade in the class.
| Final Exam | |
| Mean | 87.8 |
| Median | 89.2 |
| Mode | 93.8 |
| Standard Deviation | 9.6 |
| Range | 38.5 |
| Minimum | 61.5 |
| Maximum | 100.0 |
| Count | 40.0 |
Category: s19-econ320
Lesson 23: Investing in the 2020’s Global Economy
Review:
- Exam 4 Results
- Course Evaluations
- Final Exam on Thu Apr 25
Presentation:
- Final Exam Review Topics
- World Geography
- Guns, Germs & Steel
- History of Oil and Conflict in the Middle East
- Saudi Arabia and Saudi Aramco
- War in Syria and resulting refugee crisis
- World War II and 20th Century Europe
- European Union
- Oil Prices and Putin’s Russia
- Population Growth in India
- China’s dramatic economic rise
- Japan’s “lost decades”
- Natural resource extraction in South America
- Lithium Triangle
- Yasuni ITT Initiative
- US foreign policy in Central America during Cold War
- US-Mexico Border
- Outlook for the global economy
- Bullish long-term (20+ years)
- Bearish short-term (5-10 years)
- Drivers of long-term growth
- Information technologies
- Medical technologies
- Globally integrated markets
- Emerging economies (India, East/Southeast Asia, Latin America)
- Demographic trends
- Barriers to long-term growth
- Automation =Displaced workers (Economist PDF)
- Sovereign Debt | Since 19th Century
- Nationalism
- Corruption
- Environmental degradation
- Reprise of the Roaring 20’s ?
- All investing is value investing (otherwise, it’s speculation)
- Buy solid businesses at discount prices
- Most publicly traded companies are overvalued
- Most US real estate is selling at retail prices (very few discounts)
- Emerging markets
- Watch for major price reductions in healthy assets
- Reliable vehicles for wealth accumulation
- Rental property
- Productive land (farms, timber, mineral rights, water rights)
- Profitable businesses (that you own, not where you work)
- Dividend paying stocks
- It’s only an asset if it generates positive cash-flow
- Future of money
- Currencies may be a wild ride
- US Dollar
- British Pound
- Euro
- Renminbi (Chinese yuan)
- Japanese Yen
- IMF basket of reserve currencies
- Precious metals – as volatile as the currency used for pricing
- Gold, Silver, et al
- Cryptocurrencies
- rhymes with .com boom/bust in 1999-2000
- only one Amazon.com emerged
- 1 year ago $8,850
- Low in Dec 2018: $3,180 ( – 64.1%)
- Yesterday close: $5,370 ( – 39.3%)
- Tough competition
- Currencies may be a wild ride
- Wealth
- Essentially, all legal contracts
- Except commodities (keep them in a safe place!)
- Who to listen to
Assignment:
- Study for Final Exam
- Thank you for being a great class!
Exam 4 Results
| Exam 4 | |
| Mean | 85.2 |
| Median | 89.0 |
| Mode | 91.0 |
| Standard Deviation | 9.9 |
| Range | 44.0 |
| Minimum | 56.0 |
| Maximum | 100.0 |
| Count | 38.0 |
Lesson 22: Immigration Policy on the US-Mexico Border
Review:
- US Intervention in Central America and Caribbean
- Exam 4 on Thu, Apr 18
Presentation:
- Exam 4 Review topics
- Geography of South America
- Geography of Central America and Caribbean
- Natural Resource Exploitation in South America
- Hydropower
- Belo Monte in Brazil
- Damocracy
- Mining
- Copper in Chile
- Silver et al in Bolivia (Devil’s Miner)
- Lithium Triangle
- Oil and Gas drilling
- Yasuni Initiative in Ecuador
- Crude
- Interview with Rafael Correa
- Hydropower
- Political Intervention in Central America
- Nicaragua
- Sandinistas
- Contras
- Iran-Contra Affair
- El Salvador
- Assassination of Bishop Romero
- Massacre at El Mozote
- Rape and murder of 4 American nuns
- Nicaragua
- US-Mexico Border
- Historical territory
- Drug cartels
- Border security and Trump’s wall
Activity:
- Immigration Policy proposals
Assignment:
- Study for Exam 4
Lesson 21: Including US Intervention in Central America in the Immigration Debate
Review:
- Group assignments
- Country Timelines
- Exam 4 on Thu, Apr 18
- Final on Thu, Apr 25
Presentation:
- Complete timeline reporting
- Harvest of Empire segments
- El Salvador (1:07:30-1:18:45)
- Salvadoran Military
- Assassinated Bishop Óscar Romero (recently canonized)
- Raped and murdered 4 American nuns
- Slaughtered entire villages
- Many leaders trained by the US Military, in the US (School of the Americas)
- Backed and financed by the US govt
- MS-13
- Salvadoran Military
- Guatemala (11:40-18:30)
- Post-WWII had progressive government enacting land reform
- CIA infiltration and overthrow of government
- Brutal repression of political opponents and indigenous population
- Over 200,000 killed and 50,000 missing during decades of turmoil
- Majority of victims were indigenous Mayan
- Nobel Peace Prize winner Rigoberta Menchu
- Documented evidence that death squads were supported and trained by CIA
Discussion:
- Did these interventions contribute to today’s instability in the region?
- Does the US have any legal/moral obligation to accept immigrants from the region?
- Mexico
Assignment:
- Prepare to discuss the US-Mexico border in class Tue
- Watch Cartel Land (assigned previously)
Lesson 20: Brief History of US-Mexico Relations
Review:
- Nicaragua
- Exam 4 on Thu, Apr 18
- Final on Thu, Apr 25
Presentation:
- Intro to Harvest of Empire (03:00-4:10)
- Premise: US interventions in Latin America have resulted in immigration
- Activity:
- Form groups to investigate
- Cuba
- Dominican Republic
- Puerto Rico
- Guatemala
- El Salvador
- Investigate timeline of key events in relations with US
- Prepare to discuss immigration dynamics between your group/country and the US
- Form groups to investigate
- Mexico
- Timeline of US-Mexico Relations (Council on Foreign Relations)
- Mexican-American War (1846-1848)
-
- Over 350,000 Mexican Americans served in the military during WWII
- Bracero Program
- Started with the Mexican Farm Labor Act of 1942
- Extended by Migrant Labor Act of 1951
- Program terminated in 1964
- 5 million employment contracts offered in 24 states over 22 years (1942-1964)
- Migrant workers continue to work on farms in the US
- The Harvest (La Cosecha)
- Farm workers and immigration
- ICE crackdown in California’s Central Valley (LA Times)
- Migrant farm workers in Pueblo County (Centro de los Pobres – Avondale)
- Mexicans recruited to work in factories in the Industrial Midwest (1950s-1960s)
- Mexicans in Chicago
- Chicago has the 2nd largest Mexican immigrant population
-
- Recession in the US and devaluation of Mexican Peso in 1982
- Mexico’s Drug War (Council on Foreign Relations)
- US War on Drugs
- Cartel Land (2015 Documentary)
- North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
- Mexican farmers can’t compete with govt subsidized US corn industry
- Millions forced to find new livelihood
- Approx 35 million Mexicans living in US today
Assignment:
- Watch Cartel Land
Lesson 19: Revolution and Intervention in Nicaragua
Review:
- Mining in Latin America
- Lithium Triangle
Presentation:
- Geography of Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean
- Study this map of the region.
-
- Countries: Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico.
- Physical Features: Gulf of Mexico, Yucatan Peninsula, Baja Peninsula, Gulf of California, Panama Canal.
- Diverging American views of Immigrants from Central America
- Nicaragua, Honduras and the Iran-Contra Affair
- My primary source: Stephen Kinzer
- Iran-Contra Primer (History Channel)
- Contras based in Honduras, linked to Cocaine trade
- Not only Nicaragua, Honduras and/or Iran-Contra; one of many similar incidents
- Nicaragua (54:40-1:02:15)
- Occupied by US Marine Corp 1927-1933
- Somoza family rule 1936-1979
- Sandinista Revolution
- Reagan administration supports Contras
- Iran-Contra Scandal
- Sandinista-Contra conflict killed 50,000+
- I visited Nicaragua in 2016
- Stayed in Grenada
- Saw the inside of a volcano
- Day trip to León, capital of the Sandinista revolution
- Museo Historico de la Revolucion
- Original campus of Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Nicaragua, UNAN
- Cathedral of the Assumption Mary, just outside
- Nicaragua Today – a new revolution?
- Protests Against Ortega (HBO/Vice News)
- Inside the Nicaraguan Town Resisting President Daniel Ortega (NY Times)
- Daniel Ortega (President of Nicaragua)
- Rosario Murillo (Vice President of Nicaragua)
- Harvest of Empire documentary Official Trailer
Assignment:
- Watch Harvest of Empire
Lesson 18: Mining in South America and the Lithium Triangle
Review:
- Ecuador
Presentation:
- Mining is a major part of Latin America’s economy
-
- Copper Mining in Chile
- Codelco – largest producer of Copper in the world
- 2010 Copper Mine Accident and Rescue: Buried Alive
- World Silver Production
- #1 Mexico, #3 Peru, #5 Chile, #7 Bolivia
- Mining in Cerro Rico (Bolivia): Devil’s Miner
-
- Lithium Triangle
- Lithium
- Metal used in batteries
- Consumer electronics
- Electric vehicles
- Lithium – the future of transportation energy?
- Metal used in batteries
- Chile, Argentina, Bolivia
- International investment in the Lithium Triangle (18 min)
- How can Latin America benefit from the Lithium “boom”?
- Nationalize or Privatize
- Foreign Investment
- Value-add industry
- Lithium
Assignment:
- Watch Buried Alive
- Reading
- The White Gold Rush (Economist)
- Mining in South America (NY Times)
- Mining in Latin America (Economist)
- Finding balance between economic development and environmental protection (World Bank)
Lesson 17: Economic Development and Social Justice in Ecuador
Review:
- Hydropower on the Amazon
- Noah’s Latin America Map Quiz
Presentation:
- Latin Americas Reliance on Natural Resources
- Economic development vs Environmental degradation
- How do Latin American countries solve this challenge?
- Yasuni ITT initiative
- Case of Ecuador
- Profile
- Population
- Visit to Ecuador
- Former President of Ecuador, Rafael Correa
- Charlie Rose interview
- Role of Government
- US Foreign Policy in Latin America
Assignment:
Lesson 16: Hydropower on the Amazon River
Review:
- Exam 3 Results
- Grade Check
Presentation:
- Geography of South America
-
- Natural Resource Extraction in South America
- Historical Theme
- Resource Extraction
- Conquistadors to Chevron
- Damming, Drilling and Mining
- Negative impacts on indigenous communities and environment
- Historical Theme
- Economy of Brazil
- In “BRICS”, B=Brazil
- Hydropower on the Amazon
- Hydropower Basics
- Belo Monte Dam
-
- Damocracy (start at 9:15, end at 27:30)
Assignment:
- Watch Guns, Germs and Steel – Episode 2