ECONOMICS Paired-Assignment

1. General information:

Purpose: To enable students to research, critically analyse and evaluate the macroeconomic performance of Australia.

Topic: Evaluation of Macroeconomic performance of Australia.

Task Details: Students will complete a research-based analysis and evaluation of the macroeconomic performance of Australia from 1990 to 2015/16.

2. Students will follow the following procedure:

2.1 Obtain data on key macroeconomic indicators: real GDP, interest rates, unemployment rate, CPI and inflation rate, exchange rate, exports and imports.

2.2 Produce summary statistics (in tabular form) of real GDP growth rates, inflation rates, unemployment rates, exchange rates, real interest rates and the rate of change of net exports (NX) and briefly comment on each variable.

2.3 Produce pair-wise graphs of real GDP growth rates, inflation rates, unemployment rates, exchange rates, real interest rates and the rate of change of net exports (NX).

2.4 Use the information obtained in (2.2) and (2.3) above to answer the following questions:

• Critically analyse and discuss plausible economic explanations, including the role of government policy (fiscal or monetary), for the salient relationships between real GDP growth and other indicators.
• Based on your summary statistics, graphs and analysis and discussion above, write a short prediction of the macroeconomic outlook of Australia. Is Australia likely to experience a recession or expansion soon?

3. Research requirements, presentation and source of data:

3.1 Research requirements: Students need to support their analysis with a minimum of 10 academic journal articles plus the text. Students aiming for a Credit or higher grade will need to use more sources. Articles should be relevant and recent. Non-academic journal sources may also be used, but relevant and validity should be clarified with the lecturer/tutor.

3.2 Presentation: Report format - 2500 words report - in Word.doc or .docx format Title page, executive summary, table of contents, appropriate headings and subheadings, recommendations/findings/conclusions, in-text referencing and reference list (Harvard - Anglia style), attachments if relevant. Single spaced, font Times New Roman 12pt, Calibri 11pt or Arial 10pt.

3.3 Source of Data: Data may be obtained many credible sources, including: (1) abs.gov.au; (2) rba.gov.au; (3) imf.org.