Current Economics Analysis
Personal Assignment
Before beginning this assignment, I want to remind you that the Online Course evaluations are now open to students.
Feedback regarding courses and instruction is very important to Webster University. Students' comments make a difference in curriculum planning and presentation. The composite results are reviewed by the Dean, Department Chairs, Program Coordinators, and instructors after the course closes and grades have been submitted to the registrar's office. The feedback you provide will help plan for continuous improvement in teaching.
Students' evaluations of the course are confidential and anonymous. You can access the evaluation by:
* Selecting the course evaluation link embedded in the last 2 weeks of the course.
* Or going to https://evaluation.webster.eduand log in with your Connections ID and password.
In the Week 9 Personal Assignment, you will be asked to confirm that you have submitted your course evaluation. I thank you in advance for completing the evaluation, and I will look forward to reviewing your feedback, which I will receive approximately two weeks after grades have been submitted.
There are two Internet questions included in this assignment.
Problem 1
In 2015, approximately 59 percent of the adult population (250 million) was employed, among the lowest employment rates in 20 years. If the employment rate increased to the prerecession level of 62 percent,
a. How many more people would be working?
b. By how much would output increase if GDP per worker was $100,000?
Problem 2
The World Bank projects that the world's population will increase from 7 billion today to 8 billion in 2025. World output today is roughly $80 trillion.
a. What is global per capita income today?
b. What will per capita income be in 2025 if the world's economy doesn't grow?
c. By what percentage must the world economy grow by 2025 to maintain current living standards?
Problem 3
According to the data in Figure 15.4 on p. 292, by what percent did world GDP per capita grow from
a. 1000 to 1500?
b. 1500 to 1820?
c. 1820 to 1995?
Problem 4
According to the News Wire "Savings Rates" on page 297, If a German and an American both had $100,
a. How many more dollars would the German save in 2012?
b. Why are higher saving rates desirable?
Internet Questions
Question 1
Visit the Heritage Foundation website page for the Index of Economic Freedom, http://www.heritage.org/index/Default.aspx. How does economic freedom in the U.S. compare to countries in South America and in Europe? How would you expect future economic growth in the U.S. to compare to those nations? Explain.
Question 2
Go to the CIA's World Factbook website, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/index.html. For the United States, Switzerland, Sweden, and Hong Kong go to their Economy pages and report each country's "GDP composition by end use" for the components of GDP. Based on what you have learned thus far in this course, discuss in your view which country's economic system has an advantage over the others. Feel free to first explore the other Factbook pages for each country, which may help inform your opinion.