Research Proposals

Posted: November 7th, 2023

Research Proposals

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Research Proposals

Topic One

I will write a paper that assesses automation’s impact on the labour market. The research will touch on income elasticity, profit and opportunity costs and economies of scale to answer the research question.

Research Question

What is the likely impact of automation on the labour market? Normally, technological innovation incentivises companies to favour highly skilled workers. The trend can create unemployment and income inequality. However, employment practices and labour demands are changing with the Internet of Things.

Reason for Selecting the Topic

            Debates on the net effects of automation continue to be controversial, with most researchers agreeing that nearly all economic sectors and occupations will be affected. Little evidence exists concerning the interplay between automation and the labour market. Certain key policies and institutions influence how the labour market works, and it should be interesting to see how these institutions transform with the increased technology adoption. In the past, technology-based changes in the labour market favoured highly skilled personnel. However, new automation might eliminate thousands of high-skill jobs in the retail, healthcare, and finance sectors due to artificial intelligence. The outcome of the research should have significant insight for future recruitment.

Research Plan

            The research will employ a quantitative metadata analysis of studies published in the last six years. The articles must be in English and document the methodology and findings. The selected studies measure the impact of automation on specific economic sectors. Using an iterative data extraction process, the study will develop a model that defines the main aspects of selected studies, such as the unit of analysis, assessment method and outcomes assessed. Descriptive statistics, including mean and standard deviation, will be used to analyse and interpret the data into actionable insight. There is a huge probability that automation will create new jobs. Achieving such a feat mandates a comprehensive understanding of its impact on the labour market. 

Topic Two

I will write a paper that investigates the use of advertising in industries characterised by monopolistic competition. Marketing is often cited as a critical tool for enhancing a company’s competitiveness, but such a function is unnecessary in monopolistic markets. Such a reality begs an inquiry into why firms in monopolistic markets still invest in advertising. The study will touch on profit and opportunity costs, marginal cost, long-run average costs, and competitive market (short and long run).

Research Question

What is the effect of advertising on monopolistic competition? Investments in commercials done by rival monopolists may have a null effect on the market, leaving the industry as it was.

Reason for Selecting the Topic

            Companies spend a lot of money on marketing, perhaps too much. In every form of communication media available, users are bombarded by marketing messages. The practice is believed to cause a company’s perceived demand curve to positively shift towards the right. I have reason to suspect this might not be true in monopolistic markets. It may happen that monopolistic companies engage in advertising only to neutralise each other. Therefore, corporate spending on advertising would be unnecessary. The research findings could have significant implications for a company’s bottom lines by improving the profit margin.

Research Plan

            The study will use the econometric estimation of a demand curve to determine whether advertising influences competition in monopolistic markets. Foremost, the study will identify a product from a monopolistic industry to determine whether advertising caused changes to its demand curve. The research will look at the demand curve for at least the last six years. Econometric estimation considers generic advertising, pricing and productivity as variables influencing the demand curve of a product or brand. In perfect competition, the demand curve should shift towards the right. The hypothesis is no changes in the demand curve should occur in monopolistic markets.