Case Study 2 — Your City: The Capstone Preview

The capstone project — Build an Economic Analysis of Your City — asks you to take everything you've learned and apply it to a real place you know. This case study previews what that looks like, using Millbrook as the model.

What the Millbrook analysis would include

Profile (2–3 pages): Population 85,000. MSU 17,000 undergrads. Major employers: MSU, Medical Center, Riverside Foods. Median household income $48,000. Unemployment ~4.5%. Poverty rate ~18% (high because of student population).

Micro analysis (5–7 pages): The housing market (Chapter 5 supply-and-demand analysis, Chapter 7 rent-control debate). The Riverside Foods labor market (Chapter 21 monopsony analysis). The restaurant scene (Chapter 20 monopolistic competition). Local externalities (Chapter 11 Walden Creek pollution).

Macro analysis (5–7 pages): How Millbrook's economy connects to the national economy. The 2008 recession's impact (Chapter 30). The COVID shutdown's impact (Chapter 24). Inflation's effect on local households (Chapter 23 case study). Riverside Foods' trade exposure (Chapter 9).

Contemporary issues (3–5 pages): The Innovation Hub and the tech economy (Chapter 35). Student debt and housing affordability (Chapter 36). The future of work and AI (Chapter 21).

Policy recommendation (3–5 pages): Zoning reform to expand housing supply. Investment in the Innovation Hub. Strengthening the social safety net for low-income residents. Improving transit to reduce monopsony power.

Your turn

Pick your city. Use the Millbrook analysis as a template. By the time you finish, you will have produced a 20–30 page piece of genuine applied economic analysis — proof that you can use what you learned.

The full instructions are in part-10-capstone/. Go.