Assignment:
Part I:
3 to 4 pages, APA, plag. Checked, not counting the Title page and References page.
Structure
· Introduction
o Include a clear definition of unemployment and inflation and how and why they occur and rise in the economy.
o Also provide your understanding of the relationship between economic growth (GDP), high/low unemployment, high/low Inflation, high/low wages, and the way they impact one another.
o Include an overview of the current unemployment and inflation rates in the economy using facts and statics.
o Include a brief description of the two unemploymentor inflation-related issues that you are going to address in this paper and their importance. Basically, why do you think they are important to research and resolve?
· Data
o Obtain data from at least five credible sources (not Wikipedia) to provide facts about unemployment, inflation, and wages and their growth pattern and their current status.
o Obtain data about changes in unemployment and inflation rates for a period of 10 years.
o Obtain historical data (10 years or more) about GDP growth rate (percentage) and Real GDP volume (in dollar value).
o Obtain data about the changes in the real wages since the year 2005 (before the recession).
o Obtain historical data (10 years or more) about the two issues you are going to address, as well as data about their current status.
o Use tables, graphs, and figures to support your argument. You can find the latest unemployment and inflation data at www.bls.gov (Bureau of Labor Statistics).
o Reference List - Use at least 2 (2) professional sources to support your argument for the Parts I.
Part II:
3 to 4 pages, APA, plag. Checked, not counting the Title page and References page
Structure
· Analysis
o Unemployment: Discuss the trends of unemployment rates over the past 10 years and provide your objective analysis of the changes in unemployment and the current rates. Place extra emphasis on the periods where unemployment was either too high or too low (higher or lower than the natural rate of unemployment).
o Inflation: Discuss the trends of inflation rates over the past 10 years and their relationship with GDP growth and decline. Highlight the years that inflation was either higher or lower than usual and state the reason(s). Also state the effect of the high and low rates on GDP.
o Wages: Discuss the changes in real wages by major professions or industries and highlight the periods wages declined or rose and state the reason for this unusual change.
o Two Issues (your choice): Here you will need to discuss the two unemployment or inflation-related issues. Provide an overview of their trends and use facts to highlight the major changes in their trends and their current statuses. State the reason(s) why you believe these two issues represent a challenge for the economy.
· Reflection and Critical Thinking
o Connect all of the dots together by relating your above analysis to other areas in the macro economy. Basically, you will link changes in unemployment, inflation, wages, and GDP to one another and how they impacted each other during periods of economic decline (recessions) and periods of economic growth (expansion).
o Highlight the causes of the two issues that you selected and how they impact the economy negatively and why they do need to be addressed by policy makers.
· Solution
o State which macroeconomic policy (monetary policy or fiscal policy) that might resolve the issues you highlighted above, and state how this policy could be implemented and why it would solve these problems.
o Finally, provide your own solution. Basically, answer the following question.
What would you do to solve the macroeconomic issues you addressed if you were in charge of the U.S. economy? State why.
· Reference List, Use at least (3) references need to be in APA format.
· This reference list should include the references used in Part I as well as the references used for Part II, for a minimum of five sources total from Parts I and II combined.