COUNTRY ECONOMIC ANALYSIS

COUNTRY ECONOMIC ANALYSIS

This assignment is due by Monday, December 11, 2017.

The Assignment

Your boss is considering the possibility of setting up a factory overseas, and has asked you to provide a briefing about the macroeconomic situation in the country. The document will present the relevant information, and answer the following questions:

1. What are the trends in economic growth, inflation, and unemployment?
2. Is the government budget near balance, and are taxes clear and reasonable?
3. How does the government run monetary policy?
4. What are the country’s trade and exchange rate policies?
5. Is this an easy country in which to do business?

Suggestions

You will probably need to gather data over at least a few years on:

The economy:       real GDP, real GDP/capita, the growth rate of GDP, the main components of GDP (C, I, G, X, IM), the main sectors of the economy (agriculture, manufacturing, services), the unemployment rate, inflation rate, money growth rate, and exchange rate.

Government:         Tax rates and revenue (for the main taxes), government spending (including main headings), deficit, and debt.

Trade:                       Exports, and imports, of goods and services; the balance on the current account, and capital account; and information on barriers to trade (e.g. tariffs).

Some of the data might be presented in tables; and some of it in graphs.

Rules

This is a group project, and your team should have 3 or 4 members, coming from at least two different countries. Please e-mail your list of team members by Friday, November 3. If you don’t hear from you, I’ll assign you to a team, and will distribute the list in class on November 6.

You may pick any country, other than the US, which has at least a million inhabitants.

The paper, which must be typed, should have:

• A title page, with the title, your names, mention of the course and of Suffolk University, and a date
• A table of contents
• An executive summary (300 words maximum)
• At least two graphs that you create yourself, properly labelled; and at least two tables with data.
• A map of the country, in an appendix
• Clear references to the sources of data and information that you use
• A main body of 7-10 pages [between 2,000 and 3,000 words]
• A concluding section where you do, or do not, recommend investing in the country.

Assessment

The paper will be judged based on the quality of the analysis (30%), the clarity of organization (20%), the breadth, depth, and relevance of the data (30%), the graphic style (10%), and the correctness of the English spelling and grammar (10%).