Assignment 2 : Final Report
This assignment is aligned to
this course outcome
:
•
Apply macroeconomic concepts to current and personal economic events and decisions.
In addition to writing about
macro
economic concepts, it’s equally important to be able to convey your
understanding of
these c
oncepts by communicating them to others.
In the workplace you might do this by
writing briefs (like you did for Assignment 1), creating presentations, or writing re
ports for your manager or
team.
This Final Report assignment will
be a Word document
(approximately
3
pages)
that
build
s
off your
previous Economic Brief
and selected industry
.
For this assignment, you’ll
examine at least one of the macroeconomic indica
tors or policies below within
the context of the industry you have previously selected.
•
GDP
g
rowth
•
Unemployment rates
•
Inflation rates
•
Interest rates
•
International trade policy and issues related to trade balances, trade restrictions, etc.
•
Government
fiscal policy and issues related to t
ax
ation, government spending, and budget
deficits
•
FED
(central bank) m
onetary
policy and issues related to the FED’s mission to stabilize the
economy
Macroeconomic Resource
s for Industry and Economy
These resources are available to help you find the size and growth rate of your industry in the U.S.
economy and/or relative to GDP:
•
Real GDP
–
Click on Section 1, then table 1.1.6 (click on MODIFY to change the year range and
frequency). Data is
from Bureau of Economic Analysis (bea.gov).
•
% change in Real GDP
–
Click on Section1, then table 1.1.1 (click on MODIFY to change the
year range and frequency). Data is
from Bureau of Economic Analys
is (bea.gov).
•
GDP by Industry
–
2008 to 2017 annual data
(click on MODIFY to change the year range and
frequency). Data is
from Bureau of
Economic Analysis (bea.gov).
•
% change in GDP by industry
–
2008 to 2017 annual data
(click on MODIFY to change the year
range and frequency). Da
ta is
from Bureau of Economic Analysis (bea.gov).
These resources are available to help you measure and track macroeconomic indicators and outcomes
of macroeconomic policies:
•
Unemployment rate
s
–
Data is from Bureau of Labor Statistics (bls.gov).
•
Inflation rates
as measu
red by the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Data is
from Bureau of Labor
Statistics (bls.gov).
ECO100
–
Principles of Economics
© 2018 Strayer University. All Rights Reserved. This document contains Strayer University confidential and proprietary inform
ation
and may not be cop
ied, further distributed, or otherwise disclosed in whole or in part, without the expressed written permission of
Strayer University.
Page
2
of
4
•
% Change in Real Exports and Imports
–
Click on Section 4, then table 4.2.1
(click on MODIFY
to change the year range and frequency).
Data is from Bureau of Economic Analysis (bea.gov).
•
Government receipts, expenditures, and sa
vings
–
Click on Section 3, then table 3.1 for total
government and table 3.2 for federal government.
(Click on MODIFY to change the year range
and frequency.)
Data is f
rom the Bureau of Economic Analysis (bea.gov).
•
FED Funds Interest Rates
.
Data is from Trading Economics (tradingeconomics.com)
.
Preparation
1.
To begin this assignment, recall the industry you selected in Assignment 1.
2.
Use the industry GDP resources above to assess the size and growth rate of this industry.
3.
Next, identify a newsworthy macroeconomic indicator or policy that may impact your selected
industry. Use the macroeconomic resources above to find patterns and tren
ds.
4.
It will also be important to review relevant chapters from
The
Little Book of Economics
,
the
OpenStax: Principles of Macroeconomics
chapter readings, and your prior discussion board
questions and responses.
Instructions
Prepare
a
Final Report
that is
approximately
two to three (2
–
3)
pages
long in which you:
1.
Assess your selected
industry
’s relative size and growth rate in the economy.
2.
Identify at least one newsworthy macroeconomic indicator or policy that is important for the
industry to monito
r,
e.g.,
GDP, unemployment, inflation rates, interest rates, trade policy,
government taxation and spending
decisions,
and/or FED decisions.
3.
Explain why this macroeconomic indicator or policy
is important and how it
may impact
your
selected
industry
.
4.
Des
cribe a recent trend in the
macroeconomic indicator or policy
. Include a graph, chart, or table
that illustrates the observed trend.
5.
Conclude with a forecast for the industry based on whether the trend identified in part 4 is
expected to continue. Provide support for your conclusion.
6.
This course requires use of
Stra
yer Writing Standards (SWS)
.
The format is different
compared to
other Strayer University courses. Please take a moment to review
the
SWS documentation
for
details. (
Note:
You’ll be prompted to enter your Blackboard login credentials to view these
s
tandards.)
o
Your brief should include a cover page.
o
Your brief s
hould be two to three (2
–
3) pages in length
(not including the cover page),
double
–
spaced, 12
–
point font
.
o
Your
report
should include a
minimum of two (2)
reference
s/citations
in
the
text.