Each student will research and assess one country according to the criteria listed below. Students will determine appropriate responses to the questions provided and summarize their findings in a 5-6 page formal essay following APA formatting and style guidelines. At the end of this document, a few sources have been cited that will provide a starting point for research relating to the Canadian economy. Data on the economy of the United Students of America (USA) is available easily from the web page of the Federal Reserve System and other federal statistical agencies. If you choose a country other than Canada and USA, the web pages of United Nations (UN) agencies will be helpful.
Choose the country you would like to research:
Canada
U.S.A.
Any other country in which you have a particular interest.
In your essay, you will consider and address the following questions and points:
What is the current state of the economy that you have chosen? Collect the latest available data on nominal GDP, real GDP, per capita real GDP, unemployment rate, inflation rate, interest rates, exchange rate(s), and any other important macroeconomic data.
Is the country experiencing an inflationary gap or a recessionary gap?
What kind of macroeconomic policy should this country follow?
Is the real GDP growing and at what rate?
What is the per capita real GDP on Purchasing Power Parity basis? What is the trend in this variable? Is the per capita real GDP increasing? Can you find the relevant data for the last couple of years or more?
Is the current unemployment rate close to NAIRU? Higher or lower?
At what stage of the Business Cycle is this country presently in? Is there an inflationary or recessionary gap?
What kind of fiscal and monetary policies is this country presently following? Expansionary or contractionary?
What kind of exchange rate policy is this country presently following? Fixed exchange rate or flexible exchange rate?
How is this country’s economy going to perform in the coming years? What does the future look like? Will the unemployment rate and inflation rate change? Why or why not?
Required Materials
Review all the required chapters from the course textbook: https://open.lib.umn.edu/macroeconomics/
Business journal databases from Yorkville University Library
For the Canadian economy, some useful resources may include:
Statistics Canada. (2018). Statistics Canada. Retrieved from http://www.statcan.gc.ca/start-debut-eng.html
Bank of Canada. (2018). Bank of Canada. Retrieved from http://www.bankofcanada.ca/
Wikipedia. (2017). List of countries by GDP (PPP) per capita. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_%28PPP%29_per_capita
Evaluation
The Individual Research Essay will be marked in its entirety out of 100. The following rubric indicates the criteria students are to adhere to, and their relative weights to the assignment overall.
Score Definition
80-100
(A)
Exceeds expectations for all base requirements. Shows exceptional depth of understanding of the question and draws extensively on highly relevant course-related materials to support the argument. Demonstrates extensive level of critical thought through research and analysis.
70 -79
(B)
Meets all base requirements, plus shows exceptionally strong depth of understanding of the question makes good use of relevant course-related materials to support the argument.
60-69
(C)
Meets all base requirements. Shows reasonable understanding of the question and has referred to course related materials in the answer.
50-59
(D)
Falls short on many base requirements. Shows minimal understanding of the issues involved, and has referred to some course materials in the answer.
1-49
(F)
Falls short on most or all base requirements. Shows minimal or no appreciable awareness of the issues involved; and has minimal or no reference to course related materials.
0 No submission at all or incidence of academic integrity.
key macroeconomic indicators data of a country
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