ECO 1002: International Macroeconomics Report

ECO
1002: International Macroeconomics
Report
For
this report, you will use the concepts that you have learned about
macroeconomics and apply them to another country’s economy. You may choose any country except the US or
your home country (if it is other than the US), in order to demonstrate that
you can “start from scratch” with a brand-new country that you don’t know as
much about. Write an analysis of the
economy of that country, using the format and guidelines as given below. Write professionally, avoid plagiarism, and
try to keep your analysis “positive” (not normative).

Format for Main
Report:
Every
page should be in Times New Roman font, 12-point size, 1-inch margins on all
sides, and page numbers at the bottom.
The text should be single-spaced
but you may include pictures/graphs/tables that take up no more than ¼ of each
page. No cover page is needed.

Page 1 – your name, course #, section #, and date. Then include a few paragraphs of an overview
describing the country you chose and why, and some basic information about the
country (location, geography, population, currency, etc.) and your general assessment
of the
current state of that country’s economy.

Pages
2-6 – one page for each of the following topics. (After each of the first 4 topics below, in italics, is a list of questions that should
inform/motivate your analysis. You do
not need to answer each one of these exactly
as stated here; you should use them as guidelines to ensure that you have
thought out the aspects of the economy and are doing a thorough analysis. For example, when it states that you should
trace an economic measure back 15-20 years, if you have discovered in your
analysis that something very interesting happened 25 years ago, you may modify
your analysis to cover that time frame.
Do not omit anything significant, and do not omit anything from what is
expected in the 5th topic – “Summary and Recommendations”. )

Inputs/Processes/Outputs:
Describe the country’s basic inputs: labor force (age
and gender distribution of population; education), natural resources, and
capital. How are these divided among agriculture, manufacturing, and services?
What are the main outputs of the country?
What are the main strengths of the country’s economy (e.g. in what goods
or services is it likely to have a competitive advantage)?
GDP:
Give the current gross domestic product measurement and
trace it back 15-20 years. What
percentages of GDP are represented by consumption, investment, government, and
foreign trade?
Inflation and
Unemployment:
Give the current values and trace them back 15-20
years. Explain how they are measured.
Describe the effects that have been seen in both due to factors that are
relevant to this country (e.g. recessions, international trade/exchange rates,
etc.)
Monetary System:

Describe the currency unit, central bank powers,
financial markets, and their use by business and individuals. Describe relevant changes that have happened
within a time frame similar to the topics above.

Summary and
Recommendations:
Based upon the
analysis in the previous pages, what is the major economic challenge
confronting your country? What economic policy(ies) do you recommend to resolve
this problem? What do you think the
outlook is for the economy of this country?

Page 7 – Sources

Please remember that “google” and
“Wikipedia” are not final sources. You
may do online searches to find information, but you should cite only reputable
sources, i.e. government or other
reputable institutions that provide similar information in the US. Don’t overlook the library – the business
reference librarian is a great resource for you to get to know for your future
course work! Cite all sources using whichever citation style (e.g. APA, MLS,
Chicago) that you already know and use for other coursework, and listed as
sequentially-ordered endnotes (not
footnotes, nor an alphabetized bibliography), like this. 1 Then
the final page would be titled “Sources” and you would include the citations in
sequential order. You may use the guide
available at: .oberlin.edu/faculty/svolk/citation.htm”>http://www.oberlin.edu/faculty/svolk/citation.htm
for reference on how to cite various types of resources. Also look at .bedfordstmartins.com/resdoc5e/RES5e_ch10_s1-0007.html”>http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/resdoc5e/RES5e_ch10_s1-0007.html
: the text pages of that document show
how endnotes appear in the text and then page 7 (the “notes” page in that
document) shows how they would be listed sequentially on what will be your
“Sources” page.

Deliverables
and Grading:
(check
Bb, the syllabus, and announcements in class for due dates and updates)

1. Preliminary Country Choice (5% of total
project grade) – a one page paper, single-spaced, giving your name, section#,
etc. and then in about 2 paragraphs indicate what country you chose to
research, why you thought it was interesting, and a synopsis of what economic
information/indicators you have found or know that are available and what those
sources are. This is to be submitted in
hard copy, during your regular class time, on a date that is typically 4 weeks
before the end of the semester.

2.
Main Report (95% of total project grade)
– a 6-page paper, plus references, following the guidelines as given above. The paper is due in hard copy, during your
regular class time, on typically the last allowed class date of the
semester. It is also possible that it
will be due on the same day electronically, via “SafeAssign” or other
anti-plagiarism submission site (details will be discussed in class).

Aim
to make your paper interesting, thorough, and accurate. Demonstrate what you
have learned in this course and that you can apply it to the economy of another
country. Lateness (for either the main report or the preliminary choice of
country) will incur a penalty of a deduction of 10% of the grade per day of
lateness, calculated in 24-hour increments.
Penalties will also apply for deviation from the guidelines given above
(including formatting). Plagiarism will be dealt with strictly, in accordance
with University policy.