Research Project – A Country Economic Profile
The research assignment applies the knowledge you gained throughout the course. You are assigned a country for which you will create an economic profile. Gather the data and use the information for the analysis. You will present your findings in class and submit the assignment in a PowerPoint file.
Data collection:
You need to include in your PowerPoint presentation the following items:
1. Information on your country and the geographic location.
1.1. Include maps of the country (maps by economic significance: industry& population concentration, natural resources, major transportation routes, etc.)
1.2. Include any other visuals which help to introduce the Write a discussion paper on the economics of your country. (pictures, short videos)
2. Basic socio-demographic information:
2.1. Population
2.2. Major ethnic groups
2.3. Age distribution
2.4. Education
2.5. Other demographic characterizations which are unique to your country. (immigrants, natural disasters, etc.)
3. Economic information:
3.1. Describe some of the significant goods and services produced. (explain why the country had a comparative advantage)
3.2. Major categories of imports and exports (detail quantities, countries, dollar values).
3.3. Who are the country’s main trading partners?
3.4. GDP, and the GDP per capita (how did it change over the years)
3.5. How many people are employed & unemployed. How does it compare to the United States’ unemployment rate?
3.6. Income – averages (monthly or annual) and minimum wage.
3.7. Find one similar product in the USA and in your assigned country, for which you know the price, and calculate the expected exchange rate according to PPP theory.
3.8. Provide the data in a table or graph related to the information on current and previous years of:
3.8.1. Exchange rate
3.8.2. Stock markets level
3.8.3. Inflation
3.8.4. Interest rates
3.8.5. Housing price
4. Compare GDP and GDP Per Capita: compare these values for your country with those for the United States, keep the year used as close as possible (the same year is preferred, if available), be specific about the currency in which the numbers are expressed – you should be able to obtain all values in US Dollars if the values are in Purchasing Power Parity (PPP).
5. Using the data you collected for question 4, compare the standard of living of your country to that of the United States (remember that by definition, GDP Per Capita is the universal measure of standard of living, but you may also include other variables if you wish).
6. What is the most recent growth rate of the country’s economy, and how does it compare to the economic growth rate for the same years in the United States?
7. Describe ONE major economic event that occurred in your county -other than Covid 19 (e.g., significant unemployment, stock market crises, a significant change in the exchange rate, housing market, banking, etc.). Explain the reasons for the event and the economic variables changed (e.g., prices, GDP, employment, etc.) How long does it last? What happened after the event?
8. Describe Covid 19 impacts on your country (Death, hospital, unemployment, GDP, price level, stock market, change in the exchange rate, housing market, production level, banking, etc.). Explain the unique impact the pandemic had on your economy. How long does it last? What happened now concerning the pandemic?
9. Using the information you’ve obtained, what is your GENERAL ASSESSMENT of the country? What are your predictions for the country’s economy?
• Prepare separate slides (one or two) for each of the questions 1-8
• Remember to include your references on the last slide. Where possible, please make the links to any web information clickable links. Remember, the references and links must be to the article you used, not just to the website. Be sure to include the full URL; otherwise, your link will not be clickable.
• You can find information on websites like CIA Factbook, The World Bank, Federal Reserve Economic Data | FRED | St. Louis Fed. You can also find helpful information about your country at websites in the country of your choice.
• Remember: you should not “copy and paste” information. Plagiarism is penalized with a zero. Use your own words and quote only facts or numbers
