An Assessment of the Measurement of Economic Growth and the Integration of Business Cycles based on

Assessment Aims

Assessment Aims:

To: i) Evaluate different National Accounts Aggregates for cross-country comparisons of economic growth; ii) assess the position of selected countries in the business cycle and iii) the extent to which these business cycles have become integrated. 

-Your own mark is weighted 75 per cent for your section and 25 per cent for the shared element.

-You must join a group of between 4 and 6 students from more than one country.

(75% of your Report Mark, word length 800 words): each student in each group must choose one different country. Individual contributions each constitute one section in the report. Hence 4-6 countries will be covered by each group. Each country section must start on a separate page and include the student number of the author.

For the country you have chosen the title is: An Assessment of the Measurement and Pattern of Economic Growth in X (state name of country. Then, for this country you must:

-Introduce the topic: State briefly the purpose and structure of the discussion in your own section of the report.  

-For each of the four measures of economic growth listed in the data source below: construct a graph to show the pattern of growth from 2000 to 2019 inclusive (hence, four graphs). For each of the four graphs, describe the pattern of growth together with the advantages and disadvantages of the measure: i) for looking at growth nationally; ii) for international comparisons and iii) as a measure of wealth or poverty in the country. Put the written commentary before each graph.

-Identify the fundamental factors that have contributed to the pattern of GDP growth, the characteristics of the present stage of growth (include reference to the theory of business cycles), the key factors influencing current growth.

-Suggest the stage of the business cycle that the country is now in

-In conclusion, justify the best measure for making international comparisons of the pattern of economic growth and identify the factors that are most likely to inhibit or stimulate growth in the coming year. Based on your assessment of these factors, state how you see the pattern of GDP growth changing in the coming year.  

Arguments (descriptions, explanations, examinations and assessments) should be presented as short coherent paragraphs dealing with one aspect of the argument. Do not use bullet points, notes or single sentence fragments.

The above points should form the core of the material covered, but you are free to add more material of relevance.

Individual Element

Individual sections must be properly referenced in the text. Any quotations must be shown in quotation marks (“ “).  

Group Element (25% of the Report Mark): The 4-6 individual commentaries must be combined into a fully integrated report (see below). The group is responsible for:

Group Introduction(no more than 250 words) to the whole report. This should state the purpose of the report (see assessment aims above) and structure of the report in terms of the countries covered.  

It should state the measures looked at for each country. The definition of National Accounts Aggregates, Gross Domestic Product and the Business Cycle. It should also state that the conclusion of the report compares the pattern of growth in each country, any similarities in the factors that have driven these patterns and the extent to which the patterns are similar.

-GroupConclusion(no more than 400 words) must: draw material from (integrate) the whole report and comment on the assessments made across all the countries contained in the report to form a conclusion on:

i) whether or not national business cycles are becoming more integrated;

ii) the main drivers behind current patterns of growth; and

iii) how growth is likely to develop in the coming year.

-Presentation: The report must be presented in standard report format with: i) a title page(including list of contributors and their student numbers), contents pagewith page numbers for the sections (individual reports), Introduction, numbered Sections (1, 2, 3 etc.) and sub-sections (1.1, 1.2, 1.3 etc.), ii) Conclusion; iii) a combined list of References (all the references used in the report must be in this combined alphabetical list at the end and not in the individual sections). Do not include any appendices. The report must be paginated. Figures and Tables must be numbered consecutively according to sections (Figure 1.1, 1.2; 2.1, etc; Table 1.1, 1.2; 2.1, etc.). Hence you must decide the order in which the sections are going to come.

Graphics must be numbered, given a title, be properly labelled and have a source for the data 

Word length is subject to a tolerance of plus or minus 10 per cent -with cumulative 10 per cent penalties being applied for every 10 per cent outside this range). The contents page, list of references and words used in Figures and Tables do not count towards the word totals. As normal, plagiarism will be penalised.

Data Sources: IMF World Economic Outlook October 2019 database (or January 2020 Update): Use data over the 20 years 2000 to 2019 (inclusive):

i) GDP at current prices (national currency),

ii) constant prices (per cent change);

iii) in ppp current prices international dollars;

iv) GDP per capita at current prices in US$.

Assessment Criteria: Group Report Assessment Matrix (see document under the module website Group Report Unit.