Assignment 2 : Final Report

/in /by

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.