Assignment:
Assessment Declaration:
I declare that in submitting all work for this assessment I have read, understood and agree to the content and expectations of the Assessment declaration.
Details:
To answer the assignment questions first get the data follow these steps.
1. This assignment requires you to obtain data from two (2) countries of your choosing over the period 1985-2005.
2. Obtain country-level data on trade (% GDP) and GDP per capita (constant 2010 US$) from the World Bank's World Development Indicators (https://databank.worldbank.org/data/source/world-development-indicators.
3. Keep explanations brief. Policy analysis in applied economics has to be brief. Be precise and to the point, avoid jargon.
Questions
Follow the instructions above on how to get the data.
Read the notes from Lecture 1 very carefully.
1. In approximately 150 words, describe the economic background of these countries. What region are they in, what do they export, are they rich or poor?
2. In approximately 200 words, explain what type of globalisation does trade/GDP (also called openness) measure. Are there other measures you could have used? Why do think openness is useful when compared to other measures?
3. Using 2 graphs (one for each country), plot openness versus time for each country. Explain approximately 100 words how openness has changed for these countries from 1985 to 2005. Make sure your graph is properly labelled.
4. Explain in approximately 100 words the relationship between openness and economic development by calculating the correlation coefficient between GDP per capita (proxy for economic development) and openness for each of the two countries, respectively. [Here you have to use the CORREL command in Excel].
5. Explain in approximately 250 words the factors that you think drive openness in these two countries. What domestic policy changes have driven openness and how have changes the in international economic and political arena affected their main exports? (For example, have shocks increased or decreased the price of their main export in international markets?) [You are expected to undertake research to answer this question]. If you use information, reference it. References do not count in the word count.