Writing Assignments & Presentation
Overview
An objective of this course is for students to develop international finance/macroeconomic tools that will help them critically analyze complex economic phenomena. To achieve this objective, I have designed structured writing assignments where students are required to analyze the country-specific economic costs and benefits of a country's exchange rate regime policy through the lens of the models studied in this course as well as in previous macroeconomics courses (e.g, ECO 202 and ECO 317). Students are required to provide (1.) a long report for a technical audience and (2.) a short report for a non-technical audience. The short report is written individually and the long report is written hi a ,group.1 The group will also give a 40 minute presentation (with question and answer) of the results in the long report.2
Task
Your assignment is to use the knowledge gleaned from this course and previous macroeconomic courses (e.g., ECO 202 and ECO 317) as well as use additional resources (see suggested additional resources listed below) to write a short report (written inelitidualb) and long report (written in a 'yip), that is backed up by evidence, on a country's economic situation and on the country-specific economic costs and benefits of a country's exchange rate regime policy.
The long report is written for a technical audience and also will be presented to the class. Assume the audience has taken economics courses including International Monetary Relations. Below are items you may want to consider in the long report (conditional on country of interest).
1. Clearly and concisely describe the topic or issue and the relevant parties that are impacted.
2. Discuss relevant history and timing of policy.
3. Assess the economic situation. What did the economic situation look like before and after the creation of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) and/or the creation/adoption of the euro? For example, what happened to key economic indicators such as real GDP growth, unemployment rates, exchange rates, interest rates, inflation, wages, commodity prices, bond market, and stock market?
4. What are the country-specific costs and benefits of adopting (not adopting) the euro?
5. If the country adopted the euro, what policies did the government enact to smooth the transition? Did the policies smooth the transition? Should the government have enacted other policies?
6. If the country didn't adopt the euro, did the government enact any policies in response to the creation of the euro? What was the economic impact of the policies?
7. What does theory say about aggregate behavior in response to the issue you are analyzing?
8. Was it in the country's best interest to give up (not give up) monetary policy independence and adopt (not adopt) the euro? Back up with evidence.
9) Can you make short-run predictions or long-run predictions regarding what might have happened if the government adopted a different policy? Is there policy available to address the issue in a positive way (or negative way if you disagree with the existing policy)?
10) Concisely conclude the argument by tying the analysis together.
The short report is an executive summary of the long report and needs to be written for a non-technical audience (e.g., your boss/parents/friends/voters/policymakers, etc). Assume the audience has not taken the International Monetary Relations course and only has the basic understanding of introductory macroeconomics. The short report will help you practice turning a high-quality technical analysis into a convincing argument for the layperson. Do NOT copy and paste verbatim from the long report.
Format your assignment according to the following formatting requirements:
1. The answer should be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides.
2. The response also includes a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
3. Also include a reference page. The Citations and references should follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.