COUNTRY STUDY RESEARCH PAPER: Students will write a term paper (16-20 pages¬typed-double-spaced) on a country utilizing the concepts and ideas from our study of economic growth and economic development subject to the approval of the Professor. The Country Study Research Paper must be a fully credible academic work with appropriate scholarly references, replicable facts, and traceable sources. To avoid duplication of effort, each student in the class will research a different country. Again, the choice of countries is subject to the approval and provisos set by the Professor. Early consultation and agreement on the paper topic is highly recommended. The Professor will function as a reference and sounding board for research paper work subject to good faith effort by the student with the understanding that the mutual utility of such consultation will decrease as the semester draws towards a close. The Country Study Research Paper counts for 50% of your final grade in this course, and is due in my office (210 West House) no later than 4:00pm Thursday May 28th. No late work will be accepted.
According to the Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress, "Country Studies" present a description and analysis of the historical setting and the social, economic, political, and national security systems and institutions of a country, and examines how cultural factors influence these systems.
Please be empowered to consult other examples of "Country Studies" for further reference; an excellent example is the latest edition of the CIA
For this assignment, at a minimum, the Country Study should cover basic population demographics, principal geographic features and climate, important natural resources, the state of infrastructure and industrial plant, religious and political alignments, relative crime and pollution factors and any other factor which may be unique or important about the Country.
Your goal in the Country Study is to apply and interpret the various elements of economic theory and methodology from our survey of Development Economics to the nation which you have selected.
Please include a careful and thorough application of the ideas of basics of macroeconomic measurement including GDP per capita and the GDP growth rate, and of the level and distribution of income. In general, you should use economic analysis to explain and describe the development of the country and its GDP growth rate, and its relative wealth or poverty in international comparison. You should also provide some analysis of the role of capital in economic development, its relative levels of saving and investment, the basics of population and demographic measurements, the role of technology, and its level of attainment of human capital, and explain how each of these are important in your country. Additionally, considerations of the quality of the country's institutions, the important elements of the nation's culture, the openness of its economy to world trade, the freedom or lack of freedom enjoyed by the nation, and the relative efficiency and honest of the government will be important; please reflect upon how these are or are not important in explaining the relative economic development and wealth level of the country.
In a concluding section, provide an Economic Development Prediction about where you think this country is going. Consider a future time horizon some twenty years out, and describe, based upon you economic analysis, where this nation will be in terms of economic development and wealth level. What are this nation's chief problems and obstacles, and will they successfully meet these challenges or not?
As an over-the-top aside, your Country Study might include a Business Prognosis including an analysis of elements of comparative advantage, a risk-return analysis, labor and human capital resources inventory, summary of the current state of economic development, and notable special characteristics of the County relative to the regional or global economy. If you were going to make money (legally) in international trade in this country, what would you do?