Project Assignment Guidelines
Overview
The project for this course is the creation of economic history analysis presentation. Macroeconomics is the part of the study of economics that is concerned with the aggregate or the whole. Macroeconomics provides us with tools and methods to understand how our economy works as a whole. It deals with economy-wide issues such as price levels, employment, national income, and growth. As a student of macroeconomics, you will learn how to understand the changes occurring throughout our economy and how our economy is influenced by our decisions, by our government, and by other countries.
In this assignment, you will perform an in-depth analysis of a 10-year period in U.S. economic history between 1950 and today. In your analysis, you will examine macroeconomic data, basic macroeconomic principles, government actions, and historical/current events to give a clear and comprehensive picture of your chosen time period and detail how they are related to one another.
The project is divided into three milestones, which will be submitted at various points throughout the course to scaffold learning and ensure quality submissions. These milestones will be submitted in Modules Two, Four, and Five. The project will be submitted in Module Seven.
In this assignment, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following course outcomes:
• Apply macroeconomic models to historical and current events for drawing connections between the events and their economic impact
• Determine the effects of government intervention and fiscal and monetary policy actions for their impact on the economy
• Analyze macroeconomic data for their implication to economic outcomes and forecasting
• Analyze macroeconomics trends and government policies for their influence on industries and households
Prompt
For this assignment, you will first need to choose a 10-year period in U.S. economic history between 1950 and today. You will then present the data collected from government sources related to a variety of macroeconomic phenomena and analyze them in conjunction with the models and core principles to explain the economy-wide changes during your chosen time period. You will also examine the events of the time in their relation to the macroeconomic issues as well as the corresponding government actions taken (fiscal and monetary policies) to address the issues. The presentation should be 15-20 slides using PowerPoint, Prezi, Keynote, or PreZentit, including title and reference slides. Be sure to include speaker notes to accompany the data and graphs, information, and explanations presented on the slide.
Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed:
I. Examination of Macroeconomic Data (Be sure to include speaker notes to accompany all of your responses.)
a) Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Growth
i. Analyze the annual GDP during the time frame to calculate specific growth rates and trends in the U.S. economy.
ii. Choose two or three of the most relevant historical and/or current events during this time period that impacted the U.S. economy. Apply
specific models developed throughout the course to demonstrate how these events influenced national output during this time.
b) Unemployment and Inflation
i. Analyze unemployment and inflation data during the time frame in their relation to output and growth, using macroeconomic principles and models to explain their effect.
ii. Apply specific models developed throughout the course to demonstrate how the previously selected historical and/or current events influenced both unemployment and inflation during this time.
c) Analyze interest rate fluctuations throughout this time period and their effects on other aspects of the economy. How would these fluctuations affect inflation? Would investments and foreign trade rates increase or decrease? How would the GDP of the American economy be affected?
d) Foreign Trade
i. Analyze data representing levels of U.S. imports and exports during this time. How do they relate to other economic outcomes such as the GDP, foreign exchange rates, and so on?
ii. Apply specific models developed throughout the course to demonstrate how domestic and foreign events (e.g., wars, changes in trade barriers, development abroad) have impacted the level of and changes in imports and exports in the United States.
II. Government Policies (Be sure to include speaker notes to accompany all of your responses.)
a) Fiscal Policy
i. Examine the fiscal policies in place at the start of your specific time period in relation to their effects on macroeconomic issues. For instance, consider level of government spending, taxation, subsidies, unemployment benefits, and so on.
ii. Analyze new fiscal policy actions undertaken by the U.S. government throughout the time period by describing their intended effects, using macroeconomic principles to explain the actions.
iii. Explain the impact of the new fiscal policy actions on individuals and businesses within the economy by integrating the macroeconomic data and principles.
b) Monetary Policy
i. Examine the monetary policies in place at the start of your specific time period in relation to their effects on macroeconomic issues. For instance, consider the discount rate set by the Fed, the rates on reserves, open market operations, and so on.
ii. Analyze new monetary policy actions undertaken by the U.S. government throughout the time period by describing their intended effects, using macroeconomic principles to explain the actions.
iii. Explain the impact of the new monetary policy actions on individuals and businesses within the economy by integrating the macroeconomic data and principles.
III. Conclusion (Be sure to include speaker notes to accompany all of your responses.)
a) Summarize the overall trends and outcomes of this 10-year period by integrating the data, economic models, and historical analysis.
b) Defend your agreement or disagreement with the actions taken by the U.S. government during this time based upon your analysis and application of the macroeconomic theories.
Milestones
Milestone One: Macroeconomic Data Report
In Module Two, you will submit the first three sections of your project as outlined in Section I, parts a), b), and c).
1) Choose a 10-year period in the history of the U.S. between 1950 and today. All responses will be related to that timeframe.
b) Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Growth
i. Analyze the annual GDP to calculate specific growth rates and trends in the U.S. economy.
ii. Choose two or three of the most relevant events from this time period that impacted the U.S. economy. Apply specific models developed throughout the course to demonstrate how these events influenced national output during this time period.
c) Unemployment and Inflation
i. Analyze unemployment and inflation data as to their relation to output and growth, using macroeconomic principles and models to explain their effect.
ii. Apply specific models developed throughout the course to demonstrate how the previously selected events influenced both unemployment and inflation during this time period.
d) Analyze interest rate fluctuations throughout this time period and their effects on other aspects of the economy. How would these fluctuations affect inflation? Would investments and foreign trade rates increase or decrease? How would the GDP of the American economy be affected?
2) Present your research with 4-6 slides in PowerPoint, Prezi, Keynotes, or PreZentit, not including title page and references. Be sure to include speaker notes to accompany all of your responses.
3) Apply APA formatting to citations and references.
Milestone Two: Fiscal Policies
In Module Four, you will submit a section of your project pertaining to fiscal policies as outlined in Section II, part a).
1) Continue your observation of the 10-year period selected for Milestone One, and research the government policies implemented during those years. a) Fiscal Policy
i. Examine the fiscal policies in place at the start of your specific time period in relation to their effects on macroeconomic issues. For instance, consider level of government spending, taxation, subsidies, unemployment benefits, and so on. Analyze new fiscal policy actions undertaken by the U.S. government throughout the time period by describing their intended effects, using macroeconomic principles to explain the actions.
ii. Explain the impact of the new fiscal policy actions on individuals and businesses within the economy by integrating the macroeconomic
data and principles.
2) Present your research with 3-5 slides in PowerPoint, Prezi, Keynotes or PreZentit, not including title page and references. Be sure to include speaker notes to accompany all of your responses.
3) Apply APA formatting to citations and references.
Milestone Three: Monetary Policies
In Module Five, you will submit a section of your project pertaining to monetary policies as outlined in Section II, part b).
1) Continue your observation of the 10-year period selected for Milestone One and research the Government Policies implemented during those years. a) Monetary Policy
i. Examine the monetary policies in place at the start of your specific time period in relation to their effects on macroeconomic issues. For instance, consider the discount rate set by the Fed, the rates on reserves, open market operations, and so on.
ii. Analyze new monetary policy actions undertaken by the U.S. government throughout the time period by describing their intended effects, using macroeconomic principles to explain the actions.
iii. Explain the impact of the new monetary policy actions on individuals and businesses within the economy by integrating the macroeconomic data and principles.
2) Present your research with 3-5 slides in PowerPoint, Prezi, Keynotes or PreZentit, not including title page and references. Be sure to include speaker notes to accompany all of your responses.
3) Apply APA formatting to citations and references.
Project: Economic History Analysis Presentation
In Module Seven, you will submit your project. It will include new research on foreign trade practices (Section I, part d), will draw conclusions (Section III), and integrate all milestones and feedback. It should be a complete, polished artifact containing all of the critical elements of the product.
1) Research and present, in 3-4 slides, foreign trade practices and policies of the 10-year period you researched for Milestones One, Two, and Three.
a) Analyze data representing levels of U.S. imports and exports during this time. How do they relate to other economic outcomes such as the GDP, foreign exchange rates, and so on?
b) Apply specific models developed throughout the course to demonstrate how domestic and foreign events (e.g., wars, changes in trade barriers, development abroad) have impacted the level of and changes in imports and exports in the United States.
2) Draw conclusions to the research carried out throughout the course.
a) Summarize the overall trends and outcomes of this 10-year period by integrating the data, economic models, and historical analysis.
b) Defend your agreement or disagreement with the actions taken by the U.S. government during this time based upon your analysis and application of the macroeconomic theories.
3) Incorporate and integrate this information with the slides developed during Milestones One, Two, and Three into a 15-20-slide presentation that covers all the critical elements of the assignment. Be sure to include speaker notes to accompany all of your responses.
4) Apply APA formatting to citations and references.