1. Create a new Word document
to provide your answers. Add your answers into the new document without
inserting the questions. Just headline with 'Answer to Question 1' for example.
2. Submission can only be in
Word (e.g. .doc, .docx etc) format. No PDFs.
3. In drawing a diagram, you
can use the settings in World or draw it by hand and insert a photo. Diagrams
and materials from external sources and textbook are NOT accepted. You may add
in a diagram in a question that does not explicitly ask for one if you feel it
assists in explaining your answer. In any case, carefully label the diagram.
4. This assessment contains
five questions, each worth ten marks. Answer all questions.
5. Show all your calculations,
where appropriate, using two decimal places.
6. You will be marked for
grammar and presentation. At this level, bullet point answer will not suffice,
given assessments are supposed to mirror real- world employment conditions. It
is your responsibility to check your spelling and sentence structure. By the
same token, the bulk of the marks are allocated to the economic concepts,
theories and applications that we have gone through the course so far.
Question 1 (10 marks)<
You are a junior economist at the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and your supervisors would like you to prepare a technical brief on economic growth for several countries for their annual report on economic growth and development in specific regions.
<Specifically they would like to know, for each country, the annual growth rate of GDP (including its breakdown following the formula used), and the contribution of the share of GDP that accrues to capital (K) and labour (L).
<It is necessary to show all formulas and workings in your brief. Use proper jargon and write as if you are presenting this to your supervisor. <Here is the information available for the hypothetical economy of Macifique:
<It's capital stock has seen an annual growth rate of 1.8%, which is 1.5 times greater than the increase in the labour force.
<The labour share of GDP (i.e. output) is 0.60.
<A sudden jump in available technology boosted GDP by 2% within the same timeframe.<
Question 2 (10 marks)
<You are an expert economic commentator for a reputable business newspaper in Macifique, a fully functioning democracy with a politically engaged and aware population with high voter turnout every election, held every 3 years
.<The current president is suggesting that in order to boost long-term economic growth, it would be prudent to run an election campaign on the mantra of 'Greater Savings Today for a Prosperous Tomorrow'. Her rival, on the other hand, is running on a campaign of 'Increased Consumption Today Boosts Employment for a Prosperous Tomorrow'.
<You are to write a short piece on who, in your opinion is
(i) more likely to win the election, and
(ii) who has the stronger argument for long-term prosperity.
<Justify your answers with respect to economic theory/theories and concept(s).
Question 3 (10 marks)
<This question refers to Table 4 of the Excel spreadsheet 'HDI Data'.
<A misogynist would, all things being equal, be unhappy to see women do well in terms of economic development as it would be inconsistent with his view of how the world should be. However, on an objective measure (such as HDI measurements), is he actually better off if he lives in a country where the gap in the gender development index in favour of men is large (i.e. groupings 4 and 5), compared to where the gap is small (i.e. groupings 1 and 2)? Consider this proposition and write down your response with suitable evidence to back up your assertions. (10 marks)
Question 4 (10 marks)
<You are an intern for the Asian development Bank in Manila. Your immediate supervisor has given you the following table for two hypothetical countries.<
Asiaca
Europa
1990
GDP per capita
$8,000
Proportion of population in
poverty
2000 1990 $8,500 $10,000
$13,000<<
2000 G
0.35
0.30
0.20
0.22
Infant mortality per 100 children under 5
<0.11
0.09
0.08
0.09
Primary school enrolment per 100 children aged 6
<80,82,91,90You are tasked to, first, calculate and show the cumulative percentage changes of each variable between 1990 and 2000 and the elasticity of each variable with respect to GDP per capita, and to placeyour figures into the following table.
<GDP per capita
<Proportion of population in povertyInfant mortality per 100 children under 5
<Primary school enrolment per 100 children aged 6Second, your immediate supervisor would like you to critically analyse with justification on his proposition that 'on average, a poor person (and their family) in Europa is better off than a poor person in Asiaca in the year 2000'.
Question 5 (10 marks)<
If you are an economist at the Finance Ministry of your country. The government has just received information on this day (27 April 2022) that the economy contracted by 1.2% in Q4 2021 (i.e. October- December 2021). Information on the most recent quarter (Q1 2022) covering the period January- March 2022 is still unavailable.
<You have been given two tasks by your supervisor regarding the matter above. First, you have been tasked with putting forward a brief whereby you propose using a suitable component of GDP to boost economic growth using the smallest amount of financial resources available. Using your knowledge of multipliers, what would your advice be, both mathematically and argumentatively? Compare and contrast with the alternative available.
<Second, your supervisor wants your opinion on any concerns you may have regarding the government's plan to run expansionary fiscal policy to counteract this economic slowdown. State two concerns and briefly explain them.
Question
1
Real GDP= T(L+K)
=0.02*(0.018+(0.018*0.015))
=0.364%
The percentage changes in capital and labor directly impact
the GDP. Therefore, the technology multiplier will affect both labor and
capital (Sloman, Garratt, & Guest, 2020). Thus, the collective impact of
technology, labor, and capital on the gross domestic product is embodied in the
formula above, and consequently, the variability in GDP due to the changes in
the respective factors of production will cause a variation of 0.364% in the total output of the nation.