Assignment 1

Purpose of Assignment - Week 3 will help students develop an understanding of what money is, what forms money takes, how the banking system helps create money, and how the Federal Reserve controls the quantity of money. Students will learn how the quantity of money affects inflation and interest rates in the long run, and production and employment in the short run. Students will find that, in the long run, there is a strong relationship between the growth rate of money and inflation. Students will review the basic concepts macroeconomists use to study open economies and will address why a nation's net exports must equal its net capital outflow. Students will demonstrate the relationship between the prices and quantities in the market for loanable funds and the prices and quantities in the market for foreign-currency exchange. Student will learn to analyze the impact of a variety of government policies on an economy's exchange rate and trade balance.

Resources: National Bureau of Economic Research

Develop at least a 1,050-word economic outlook forecast that includes the following:

1-Introductory Paragraph

2-[Optional] Analyze the history of changes in GDP, savings, investment, real interest rates, and unemployment and compare to forecast for the next five years.

3-Discuss how government policies can influence economic growth.

4-Analyze how monetary policy could influence the long-run behavior of price levels, inflation rates, costs, and other real or nominal variables.

5-Describe how trade deficits or surpluses can influence the growth of productivity and GDP.

6-[Optional] Discuss the importance of the market for loanable funds and the market for foreign-currency exchange to the achievement of the strategic plan.

7-Recommend, based on your above findings, whether the strategic plan can be achieved and provide support.

8-Concluding Paragraph

9-References (separate page)

Cite a minimum of three peer-reviewed sources not including your textbook. (preferred for a better grade)

Cite a minimum of three online sources not including your textbook. (acceptable)

Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines.

Assignment 2

Purpose of Assignment - Students examine the long-run determinants of both the level and the growth rate of real GDP per person and the factors that determine the productivity of workers and what governments might do to improve the productivity of their citizens. Students will learn how saving and investment are coordinated by the loanable funds market and will see the effects of taxes and government deficits on saving, investment, the accumulation of capital, and ultimately, the growth rate of output. Students will be introduced to tools that people use when they participate in financial markets. Students will see how people compare different sums of money at different points in time, how they manage risk, and how these concepts combine to help determine the value of a financial asset, such as a share of stock. Students will be introduced to the labor market and how economists measure the performance of the labor market using unemployment statistics. Students will address a number of sources of unemployment and some policies that the government might use to lower certain types of unemployment.

Resources: National Bureau of Economic Research

Scenario: The organization strategic plan calls for an aggressive growth plan, requiring investment in facilities and equipment, growth in productivity, and labor over the next five years. It is your team's task to determine where, outside the United States, your organization should locate its new manufacturing plant.

Write at least 750-word report recommending an off-shore country (suggest Canada or South Africa) and support your choice with the following data:

1-Introductory Paragraph

2-The factors determining the country's productivity

3-How the country's policies influence its productivity growth

4-How the country's financial system is related to key macroeconomic variables

5-How your organization can reduce the risk they would face in relocating

6-[Optional] The current and projected unemployment over the next five years

7-Concluding Paragraph

8-References (separate page)

Cite a minimum of three peer-reviewed sources not including your textbook. (preferred for a better grade)

Cite a minimum of three online sources not including your textbook. (acceptable)

Format the assignment consistent with APA guidelines.