Comprehensive Country Evaluation

In this comprehensive country evaluation, you are required to:

Identify, describe, and evaluate characteristics of your assigned country that make it attractive or unattractive to U.S. companies who already are or who may consider doing business there. What characteristics of the country make it a favorable place to do international business?

What characteristics are unfavorable for international business? Use this evaluation to make recommendations about the types of companies/industries that should pursue international business opportunities in your assigned country, and specify the types of international business (exporting and/or licensing and/or direct investment etc.) that you would recommend. Country characteristics that must be reviewed in your report include:

I. International Trade
- Exports and imports (type and volume) to and from other countries, including the U.S.
- Commercial policy (tariffs, quotas, non-tariff barriers, licensing requirements)
II. Exchange Rate Determination
- Description of the exchange rate system
- Exchange rate stability: past, present, and future
III. Foreign Direct Investment Policies
- Tax policies
- Equity ownership requirements
- Other regulations (barriers to FDI)?
IV. Economic Structure and Performance
- Degree of privatization
- State of infrastructure (transportation, communication, energy)
- Macro economic performance indicators (such as GDP per capita, growth rates, inflation, interest rates): past, present, and future
- Labor markets (availability, wage rates, skill/education level, regulations)
- Environmental issues (regulations, types and degrees of pollution)
- Corruption
V. Cultural Complications ( language, customs, etc.)
VI. Social and Political Stability: past, present, and future

Please note that:

1. Each student will be assigned a country by the instructor.

2. Do not use first person. Do not write your paper in the order of the characteristics above. You may use headings but you are not required to do so.

3. This is NOT a position paper. It is a factual investigation of a country followed by the investigator's own analysis which includes recommendations for doing business with a specific country. This is not a description of your assigned country's economy. REMEMBER three or more words taken from any source, including a specific country's or company's web pages, or ideas that belong to someone else are considered plagiarism. You will receive a zero on the paper and possibly fail the course if you plagiarize.

4. The length of your paper including the introduction, analysis and conclusion, and excluding the references should be 8 - 9 pages (points will be deducted if a paper is more than 9 pages). The paper must be type-written and double spaced with standard font size such as Times New Roman 12. Any additional material should be left for the appendix (such as maps, charts, and other interesting & relevant info).

5. Additional Characteristics may be relevant to the type of industry or form of international business that you select for your country. If so, be sure to include these additional characteristics in your analysis and evaluation.

6. A minimum of SIX SOURCES is required. Most students use more than ten sources. These sources include everything you read about your country. It is not necessary to put our textbook as one of your sources unless you directly quote from it.

7. You will submit your paper electronically via Turnitin. This program will alert me if there is plagiarism and you will receive a zero on the paper and possibly fail the class.

8. The recommendation should include an industry and type of business that matches your country's strengths and weaknesses as a location for FDI. See chapter 13 Entering Foreign Markets for info regarding types of business.