Purpose: In this activity, you will locate economic data and use it to discuss the concept of standard of living at the national and household level.
Instructions: For this assignment, you will research standards of living. To start, you will visit a website called Dollar Street. Find instructions for what to do after you get to the site, use this handout.
Download this handout.
Once you complete your research, you will create a report based on the following guidelines. Here is a report template
Download report template
to aid your process.
Create a report of the information you have gathered. Information should be clear, concise, and broken up with headings. As a general guideline, you should write one or two short paragraphs for each numbered item. The report should exhibit a high standard of professional communication and be well-edited. Images should have attribution, and you should include a reference page (FRED, Dollar Street, Factbook, and any others used). Include the Country Summary Page at the end of your report.
Content
Introduction:
Name of the country you chose with a short explanation as to why you chose it.
Country Information:
Include a brief description of the country and the factors that affect its economy. Remember, resources, technology, and institutions have a significant impact on Economic growth.
FRED GDP Graph and an explanation of Real GDP and Economic Growth. Define the concepts using your own words and their relationship with one another. Why do we measure economic growth using Real GDP rather than Nominal GDP?
Explain the phases of the business cycle in general and identify at least one year when this country was experiencing each phase. Research to find out what may have contributed to this. Was there political upheaval or a drought that lead to this downturn, etc.
Explain the standard of living and the relationship between Real GDP, Population, and Real Per Capita GDP. Include values of Real GDP, Real GDP Per Capita, and Population found in the CIA World Factbook. Is there income equality or inequality in this nation?
Family Information:
Include a photo of the family you have chosen and a brief description. You may want to include information on family size, employment, living conditions, etc.
How does this family’s standard of living compare to others in their country based their annual spending compared to the GDP per capita found in the world Factbook?
Include one of the images in the family’s album and thoughtfully explain how this image compares to something similar in your life
