Data Analysis Project Due Date: The goal of this microeconomics project is to train students on analyzing the market mechanisms that changes relative prices among goods and services. Students will be able to identify and explain economic concepts and theories related to the behavior of economic agents, markets, industry and firm structures, and government policies. Students will be able to integrate theoretical knowledge with quantitative and qualitative evidence in order to explain past economic events. The goal of this project could be achieved by collecting economic data, organize it, graph it, and using the tools we learned in this course to provide an economic intuition and explanation. Project steps and requirements: Choose one of the following markets: Oil (Global price of Brent Crude) Gold (Gold Fixing Price 10:30 A.M. (London time) in London Bullion Market, based in U.S. Dollars) Coffee (Global price of Coffee, Other Mild Arabica) Aluminum (Global price of Aluminum) Corn (Global price of Corn) Collect data about the market using the FRED website. The starting date and the frequency of the data is up to you (use your economic judgment). (15 Points) Create a time series graph based on your data using Excel. (15 Points) Identify periods with sharp increase or sharp decrease. (10 Points) Select one of the periods you identified in the previous part and explain what changed in the market. Your explanation should be based on real life events and facts collected from legitimate sources. Using your own words, provide economic intuition about the event and its effect on the market Illustrate the changes in the market using Demand and Supply graph (make sure to identify old and new equilibrium prices on the graph). Provide the name and the link for every source you used in this project.
