Assignment:
The first step in the course project is to conduct research on three time periods in the history of the United States:
- The Great Depression years of 1929 to 1933
- The 1970s Stagflation from 1973 to 1982
- The recent recession that occurred in the years 2008 to 2010
Your research should provide you with information about the key macroeconomic variables we have examined this week:
- GDP
- Unemployment
- Changes in the price level, either inflation or deflation
After gathering your research data on the macroeconomic variables of each of the three eras, write a paper 4 to 6 pages in length (not counting the title page). Your paper should include the following:
1. On your first page, after a brief introduction, you should define the three macroeconomic variables. Then, using those three variables, define what we mean by recession and stagflation in terms of those concepts. For instance, in a recession what is happening to GDP, unemployment, and inflation?
2. The next section of your paper should focus on each of the three events one at a time, discussing how each of these variables responded during each of the events. Keep in mind that when covering a period of years you will need to identify data for each of the years in order to provide a statement of the direction of the economy and how it changed during that event.
You should use your research to go beyond a simple statement of "the economy got better" or "the economy got worse" and describe how it got better or worse according to the economic concepts discussed.
3. Finally at the end, provide a brief summary of what happened during each event compared to the time before and the time after each era.