Mike Kaelin

Econ 1600
MWF: 7:00-7:50
Reflective Writing

It is hard sometimes to judge your own growth and skill development. Hard
work, over time, builds experience and professionalism, but growth and change can
be a slow process and difficult to assess. Through critical analysis, though, I have
found that since the beginning of this semester I have learned many skills and
acquired a knowledge base that has added to my character and potential. By using
reflective strategies, I can examine these skills and apply them where they will help
me in my life and future profession. College, for me, is an opportunity to expand my
horizons to ensure that I am capable of making educated decisions that will better
my future and the future of others around me. In Economics 1600, I have become
familiar with different types of economies and how they function and what
influences them. Not only did we study and learn about the types of economies, we
then took that information and applied it to real world events through reading The
Economist, a current economic analysis magazine. This was a key factor in being
able to analyze an economy according to critical factors such as GDP, Income
distribution, and population. To back up information and give credibility we also
went over key theories from brilliant economists throughout time.
In critically analyzing what I have learned in Economics 1600, I started by
thinking of how my opinions and views have changed since the start of the
semester. The first change that I noticed was that I no longer saw large corporations
and firms as machines or robots. I realized that decisions in large economies are
made by individual people. This gave me a base knowledge to start studying the
different kinds of economies in this world and how they can be affected by cultural,
religious, and fiscal influences. These influences in many cases determine how

these economies run, which then determines what kind of economy they are
classified as.
While studying the various types of economies, we would examine relevant
current events to help show us the effects happening right now. One major event
that came about during this course was the collapse of the economy in Greece. This
was a perfect example of how a market collapse of a capitalistic economy occurs.
After borrowing so much money, they eventually declared bankruptcy. This provided
me with a better understanding of a market collapsing, but also taught me a lesson
to be smarter when taking out a personal loan for myself.
Theories from past economic analysts like Adam Smith were also very helpful
when attempting to understanding concepts that were hard to explain. For example,
Adam Smiths theory of the invisible hand helped me to understand the relationship
between buyers and sellers in an economy. The principle of the invisible hand
simply states that market prices will come into harmony between buyers and
sellers. This harmony will benefit both sides equally. Another critical theory comes
from Frederic Bastiat which provides a solution to many mistakes made in
economics. Bastiat states that the most common error in economics is ignoring
secondary effects. Even the smallest change in an economy will make a chain
reaction of effects that can be positive or negative. This principle will also help me
in my own life when making fiscal decisions and contemplating how they will affect
me in the future.
All of these principles and market types have helped me (part of the future
generation) be more educated to make decisions that will be beneficial to me
personally and to the people around me. I have learned that as economic problems
arise in my generation, we will be the ones who will have to fix these problems. It is

critical to know effects and how I can use my voting power to elect individuals who
will foster wise economic practices locally, nationally, and around the world.