GUIDELINES FOR THE ECONOMIC ESSAY

This Economic Essay will be an opportunity for ECF5921 students to demonstrate their understanding, skills and capabilities to take economic ideas, concepts and tools to written work which provides an in-depth yet concise assessment of a country's international trade
strategies and policies over time.

The brief for this 3000-word research essay is herewith provided:

Read through The Economist article "The Gated Globe" found on the Oct 12, 2013 issue (also provided on pages 12 to 14 of this Unit Outline). Next, go through at least one of the following websites: www.imf.org, www.cia.gov and www.oecd.org and choose any country from the available list. Note the trading history of your chosen economy relative to its major trading partners over time.

Using country-specific trade statistics, demonstrate and describe the general pattern of trade experienced by your chosen economy in the last 50 or so years. Assess whether this economy has become more or less dependent on international trade over that period and discuss some possible reasons for your observed trends. Next, focus on the country's economic performance from 2007 onwards. How was it affected by the global financial crisis (GFC) in 2007-09? What country characteristics did it have that aggravated the impact of the GFC? Alternatively, what country characteristics enabled this country to escape the devastating effects of the last GFC? Post-GFC, is there evidence that the economy have become more "gated" after experiencing this wide-ranging economic shock? Evaluate the economy's post GFC policies, highlighting the effects of any changes that may have occurred since. What economic lessons can we learn from this economy in terms of avoiding or minimizing (the effects of) a financial crisis should such come around again? Provide an opinion on the country's economic prospects for the foreseeable future.

Attachment:- Report.rar