The audience for this project is your friends and family who do not know all the details about the economy. You can consider sharing this project with them!
Please use the following outline to complete your project:
Introduction
Describe economic indicators and briefly describe the United States economy
Business Cycle
What are the four phases of the business cycle? Which phase are we in now? When do you think the United States economy will move to the next phase? Visit the NBER (http://nber.org/cycles/cyclesmain.html.) website and review the recent business cycle data. How long as the economy been in the current phase?
Gross Domestic Product
What does GDP measure? What is the current level of GDP for the United States? What is the percentage growth wth from last year? Do you expect this growth rate to continue?
Inflation
How do economists measure inflation? Did the CPI recently increase or decrease? Visit the Bureau of Labor Statistics (http://www.bls.gov/cpi/) website and explore the Consumer Price Index section. Summarize the latest press release and explain what caused the index to increase or decrease.
Unemployment
How do economists measure unemployment? Why is unemployment not a perfect measure of joblessness? Visit the Bureau of Labor Statistics (https://www.bls.gov/bls/unemployment.htm) website and explore the national unemployment rate section. What is the current level of national unemployment? Has it increased or decreased? Explain why the unemployment rate has changed.
Monetary Policy
What is monetary policy? Who conducts monetary policy in the United States? Visit the Federal Reserve (https://www.federalreserve.gov/) website and read the most recent FOMC statement. Did the FOMC increase or decrease interest rates? Explain why the FOMC changed the interest rate and how a change in the interest rate impact the economy as a whole.
Fiscal Policy
What is fiscal policy? Is the President and Congress currently running expansionary fiscal policy or contractionary fiscal policy? Visit the Congressional Budget Office (https://www.cbo.gov/.) and report a project that could impact the budget (search topics then pick an area that you find interesting).
International Trade
Visit The Observatory of Economic Complexity (https://oec.world/en/.) and report the top five imports and top five exports of the United States. Which countries do we trade with the most? Should America encourage free trade with its trading partners or seek a more protectionist approach? Take a stand on this issue.Support your opinion with good economic reasoning. Who benefits from your approach and who loses? Why? Include impacts on both American citizens and the citizens of the other countries with whom we (U.S.) trade.
Conclusion
Summarize the overall state of the United States economy.
Each section (introduction, business cycle, GDP, unemployment, inflation, fiscal policy, monetary policy, international trade, conclusion) should be a paragraph or two. Remember, your audience is family and friends who do not have a full understanding of the economy.
Rubric:
Introduction Paragraph
Includes an introduction to the paper that outlines the importance of economic indicators.
Business Cycle Paragraph
Includes the four phases of the business cycle, description of which phase the U.S. economy is currently in, how long the economy has been in the current phase, and an estimate of when the economy will move to the next phase.
GDP
Includes description of GDP, level of GDP, GDP growth rate and analysis of GDP.
Inflation Paragraph
Includes summary of most recent CPI press release from BLS and analysis of change in CPI from previous period.
Unemployment Paragraph
Includes summary of most recent Unemployment press release from BLS and analysis of change from previous period.
Monetary Policy Paragraph
Includes analysis of the state of monetary policy.
Fiscal Policy
Includes analysis of fiscal policy and CBO projections.
International Trade
Includes analysis of United States exports and imports, and countries the United States trades with.
Conclusion
Includes a well-round conclusion paragraph that summarizes the paper.
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