Download ECON 2301 Honors

ECON 2301 Honors
Country Research Project
INTRODUCTION
Description:
Each student begins this project by selecting one country of interest along with at least one other student. Each
group will analyze its selected economy based on the historical data for the key macroeconomic concepts (GDP,
unemployment, inflation, interest rates, and exchange rates) that are discussed in class. To promote a better
understanding of factors behind the varying living standards across nations, each group will conduct an in-class
presentation. By attending other students’ presentations and applying basic concepts of economic growth and
development, students are expected to draw conclusions about the key factors that affect the varying economic
outcomes around the world (e.g., why are some nations rich while others poor?).
Objective:
The objective of this project is to help students actively develop the three basic tenets of the Honors Program
(critical thinking, research and writing) as well as the six intellectual skills emphasized by the University Core
Curriculum Program (reading, writing, speaking, listening, mathematical competency and critical thinking).
The main subject is the economic development of different nations around the world. To this end, each student
will collaborate with at least one other student in collecting and analyzing key historical economic data of a
selected country (research, listening, speaking, reading and mathematical competency skills), presenting the
performance of its economy in class and documenting the findings in a research paper (writing and speaking
skills), and finally comparing the economic performance of different nations (listening and critical thinking
skills).
This activity aims at instilling the Honors Program “dispositions” of (1) understanding, (2) applying, (3)
analyzing, and (4) evaluating.
By the end of this project, the students will have an opportunity to:
1. develop the six Core skills,
2. develop the three Honors Program Core tenets (critical thinking, research and writing),
3. integrate the knowledge and skills from various disciplines (e.g., communication, geography, history,
political science and mathematics),
4. understand the relevance of other disciplines (e.g., geographical, historical and social factors) to the
contemporary economies around the world, and
5. develop a global perspective in understanding economic, geopolitical and social issues.
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Country Research Project
GUIDELINES
Requirements:
1. Each student is required to team up with one more student in the class. After the presentation, each student
will evaluate the individual contributions to the team work.
2. The list of countries available for presentations will be announced in class.
3. Each student is required to collaborate with the other team member in collecting and analyzing economic
data and other resources through the Bell Library or the Internet.
Presentation (100 points):
1. Time limit: 20 minutes.
2. Send a copy of the file to the instructor at [email protected] by the Friday before the presentation. Get
instructor feedbacks and make revisions, if any.
3. (Optional) Discuss the presentation with the instructor at least one day (Monday) before the presentation.
4. The scope of the presentation includes:
 a brief introduction of the selected country (<5 min.),
 a brief description of the current economic conditions and key historical developments of the economy
with reference to the historical data of income, inflation, employment, interest rates and exchange rates
(10-15 min.),
 an assessment of the country's economic performance with the data available (5 min.),
 a discussion of the factors (e.g., social, economic, cultural, legal and political) that might have affected
the country’s economic performance (5-10 min.), and
 any lesson from this country's experience.
NOTE: The instructor will present the U.S. economy as a sample. Bear in mind that the presenters’ goal is to
help promote a better understanding about how well an economy functions. The primary audience is peer
students, not the instructor. You may provide handouts to facilitate the presentation. The instructor can make
copies for you.
Written Report (100 points):
A 10- to 15-page detailed report including the presentation material is due electronically in Word format by the
class period immediately after the presentation. This document is a formal research report that includes relevant
data and their sources, analysis and references. Student must also incorporate any comments or suggestions for
revision during the class presentation.
Participation:
Attendance to other students’ presentations is important because (1) you will have an opportunity to provide
comments or to ask questions, and (2) the presentation material will help you draw cross-country comparisons
(part of the exam material).
Deadlines:
September 21
Friday before presentation
One week after presentation
Country selection
Draft of the presentation in PowerPoint
Written report due
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Country Research Report
GUIDELINES
The following is a check list for students in preparing for the Final Report for the Country Project:
A. COVER PAGE
The name of country, names of all students in the group, course and semester (ECON 2301, Fall 2010).
B. WRITTEN CONTENTS
1. Introduction (1 page):
A brief background of the country (geographical location, population size/demographics, and political
institutions) that might be relevant to your discussion of its economy.
2. Current economic conditions (1-2 pages):
To address (1) whether it is a “rich” or “poor” country by comparing it globally (be sure you have the right
measure for comparison, see textbook chapter 8); (2) the current stage of the business cycle in terms of key
variables of the economy (see textbook chapter 7)
3. Long-term economic growth or development (2 pages):
To address the historical pattern of its economic growth (i.e., any factor that helps explain why this
economy has experienced relatively strong or weak growth rates; see textbook chapter 9)
4. Money and banking (2-3 pages):
(1) What is its currency? What has been its foreign exchange rate over time and any noticeable factor that
explain that pattern? (see textbook chapter 34) (2) What is its central bank and to what extent the central
bank has an impact on the economy with its monetary policy? (see textbook chapter 16)
5. Foreign Sector (1 page):
To what extent does its foreign sector (imports and exports) contribute to the nation’s economic
development and growth? (see textbook chapter 33)
6. Concluding discussion (1-2 pages):
Is there any factor that stands out as the primary contributing factor for this country’s relative economic
status? To what extent has the government or the central bank played a role in this economy?
C. GRAPHS AND TABLES (not counted in the page length listed in B)
Insert all graphs and statistical tables near the text where you use the data. If you “copied” any graph from the
Internet instead of using the data and drawing your graphs, make sure you give credit to the source and the
graphs are appropriate for your discussion.
D. REFERENCES
List all the data sources and citations after the main contents.
E. DELIVERY
Send this Report (one per team) in Word XP format (doc, not docx file) as an attachment to [email protected]
by midnight December 7 (Tuesday). The student submitting this email should COPY it to other group member.
You will receive an acknowledgment of your submission within 24 hours of receipt.
Your paper will be uploaded to Turnitin.com before grading. Read the Syllabus for guidelines and policies.
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F. EVALUATION (For multiple partners only)
If you belong to a team of more than one student including you, then you are required to submit a statement of
evaluation of your partner in this project. Email this evaluation to me ([email protected]) in a separate email
on the same day you submit this Report. By default, it is 50-50 in the contribution between you and your
partner. You can simply fill in the following as plain text in your email instead of an attachment.
The following is the format:
Name
% of contribution to this whole
project
(must add up to 100%)
My name
Explanation or comments, especially
when the distribution is not even (50%50%) [optional]
Other student’s
name
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The following is a list of criteria that the instructor of every Honors course has to complete for each student.
This list assists you in the overall expectations in this Project as well as for the course:
Working vocabulary of field (REM)
Digest research results (UND)
Digest primary materials (UND)
Pre-writing and drafting skills to generate ideas (UND)
Rephrase issues (UND)
Documentation conventions (UND)
Model research / writing methods (APP)
Apply lessons of the past (APP)
Apply research methods to a problem (APP)
Conduct primary research (APP)
Conduct secondary Research (APP)
Construct a method to track research (APP)
Maximize benefits of writing-as-process (APP)
Reflect on concepts / paradigms (APP)
Adapt writing styles / models (APP)
Employ varied means of persuasion (APP)
Reason from specific to general (ANA)
Examine paradigms in different context (ANA)
Distinguish between data sets / research and their contexts (ANA)
Weigh problems / perspectives while drafting (ANA)
Work toward a thesis with revision (ANA)
Support a thesis with evidence (ANA)
Weigh conflicting perspectives (ANA)
Project consequences of idea / claim (EVAL)
Synthesize materials (EVA)
Interpret results from data (EVA)
Articulate values that underlie conclusions (EVA)
Accommodate other perspectives (CRE)
Apply abstract principles to concrete problems (CRE)
Formulate solutions to problems (CRE)
Can construct bridges between conflicting views (CRE)
Can find persuasive means to lead a reader (CRE)
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