Posted: May 9th, 2015

Macroeconomics

The written assignment has 3 part A, B and C. However, I have done part A by myself. Could you help me in part B and C please? Thank you so much.
MAE102 – The Global Economy Trimester 1 2015
Due Date: Monday 11th May 2015
(See end of assignment for submission requirements) 2000 words maximum. 25 percent of total marks for unit This assignment has 3 parts, A, B and C.
Part A: Economists
Economists perform a variety of roles in Australia and in other countries. These include policy analysis and advice to governments (at all levels including local) and international institutions, analysis and advice regarding economic conditions to both big and small business, forecasting, work in the finance sector, agriculture, trade, taxation – the list is large!
For Part A, research the role of an economist in an institution/business/sector of your choosing. This means finding out about the economist’s role. You need to reference an actual position description for an economist. Provide the reference for where you found the position description. (Note that this does not need to refer to an actual vacancy; many organisations describe what economists who work for them might do, even if they are not actively recruiting at the moment.)
Write a report of no more than 500 words that includes:
(a) A brief introduction to/information about the organization you have chosen: their role and mission statement or similar.
(b) A description of the role you have chosen, including the (economics) skills required for the role.
(c) One question you would like to ask an economist in that role, and a brief reason why you are interested in the answer (you do not have to provide an answer). The question must be related to the organisation, not just, for example: “Do you like your job?”! For example for an economist at the Reserve Bank of Australia, you might want to ask what conditions would need to change in Australia before the Board is likely to lift the cash interest rate, or something similar. Be creative!
Include a brief introduction (one or two sentences), then address the three points above separately.
Hint: many organisations advertise their graduate program on their websites, and list requirements/position descriptions for graduate economists.
Choose one of the following, or find another that interests you. There must be a 1

macroeconomics element to your choice.
Suggestions: In Australia: The Commonwealth Government – various departments; the Australian Bureau of Statistics; the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARE); the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA); the Productivity Commission; State Governments – various departments; The Australian Council of Social Services (ACOSS); NATSEM (The National Centre for Social and Economic Modeling); Major banks; financial intermediaries, big accounting firms, consulting firms such as McKinsey and credit rating agencies such as Standard and Poor’s.
Overseas: The European Central Bank (ECB); The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD); The International Monetary Fund (IMF); The World Bank, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the Asian Development Bank (ADB); The World Trade Organization (WTO).
No more than 500 words.
Total for Part A: 5 marks
Part B: Interest rates and monetary policy: data collection, presentation and analysis
For Part B of the assignment you will investigate the role of the interest rate and monetary policy in the macroeconomy. You will collect, present and analyse GDP growth, investment growth, inflation rate, unemployment rate and interest rate statistics for Australia, Greece, and the USA:
1. Collect annual data for the real GDP growth rate, real gross fixed capital formation growth rate, the unemployment rate and the consumer price index (CPI) for the three economies for the years 2001 to the most recent year available for any series from the World Bank database. http://databank.worldbank.org/data/views/variableselection/selectvariables.aspx# . Define each variable. Present the data in a table and present a chart for each variable; that is four charts.
(3 marks)
2. Collect the international official interest rate data for Australia, for Greece (note, Greece is in the Euro zone) and the USA from http://www.rba.gov.au/statistics/tables/index.html#interest-rates (Table F13). Calculate the annual average for each of the three series from the monthly data for the year from July to June e.g. for the first year in your series, July 2000 to June 2001, and so on for the later years. Add these data to the table for the other variables above. Present the interest rate variables in one chart.
(2 marks)
3. Present a separate chart for each of the three countries for all variables, that is three charts. What do you conclude about the relationship between the official interest rate and
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GDP growth in each country; between the interest rate and investment growth; the interest rate and unemployment; and the interest rate and inflation? For instance are they rising, falling, moving in opposite or same directions?
(4 marks)
Note: Please do not attach excel files with your assignment, as CloudDeakin will not accept them. You need to use copy/paste functions to transfer your tables and graphs to the word document containing your assignment.
Total for Part B: 9 marks
4. Describe briefly the process by which the monetary authorities can seek to implement the
official interest rate.
(2 marks)
5. Explain the expected relationships in theory between interest rates and the other variables
above, that is GDP growth, investment growth, unemployment and inflation, making use of diagrams.
(4 marks)
(5 marks) Total for Part C: 11 marks
Part C: Theory and policy
6. Read http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-02-13/rba-glenn-stevens-economic- testimony-to-parliament/6090624, describing the reasons for Australian monetary policy. Compare and contrast the approach to monetary policy for each economy. How effective does monetary policy appear to be in each economy? Give reasons for your answer.
NOTES:
Presentation and Referencing:
Assignments must be typed. Answers should be in full sentences, checked for grammar and spelling. Data should be neatly presented in table and graph format where requested, with sources correctly documented. The tables and graphs should be correctly titled and labelled, with sources given at the foot of each and fully referenced in the bibliography at the end of the assignment. Up to 4 marks will be deducted for poor presentation.
Word limit:
No more than 2,000 words in total (with a limit of 500 words for Part A). The words in any graphs/diagrams, tables, equations, and the references do not count toward the word limit.
Submission details:
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Submit an electronic copy of your assignment to the Drop Box in CloudDeakin, before 11:59 p.m. Monday 11 May. Make sure you receive an email confirming submission. Do not leave it until the last minute as CloudDeakin can become congested around submission time, and the drop box automatically closes at 11:59pm.
Do NOT email assignments. If you miss the due date/time, you must submit in the “Late assignments” drop box, which will become available at 12:01am on Tuesday 12 May.
Penalties will be applied for late submission.
Note that CloudDeakin does not accept some file formats, including Excel files.
You should upload one file only in either Word or (preferably) PDF format.
Other Information:
Go to the Division of Student Life’s website, select ‘study skill’, ‘student resources’, ‘referencing and avoiding plagiarism’. The direct URL is
<http://www.deakin.edu.au/current-students/study- support/studyskills/handouts/authordate-harvard.php>
Please read carefully ASSESSMENT and STUDY SUPPORT in your unit guide before you start working on your assignment.
Individual work is required!
You may study with other students, however you must write this assignment on your own. Read the Unit Guide p12 and http://www.deakin.edu.au/students/study- support/referencing/plagiarism. YOU MUST NOT COLLUDE or PLAGIARISE. Collusion is submitting an assignment that is very similar and clearly a close copy of another, using identical or very close diagrams and examples. Plagiarism is if you use ideas that are not your own without appropriate reference. Software will check each assignment for plagiarism and collusion. Students who have been caught then have had to appear before the Academic Misconduct Committee and receive a penalty – this could include exclusion from the university.
Most students do the work in good faith and submit their own words and diagrams. They understand the importance of this for learning, maintaining the quality and integrity of the degree they will ultimately get, and preparing for the exam.
To avoid any suspicion of collusion if you do work together, go away to write up your own version separately. If you use ideas from other sources (for example the text or articles) then reference them correctly. All directly or indirectly sourced material must be referenced and an alphabetical list of references should be included at the end of your assignment. Quotes from the textbook must be referenced but it is better to use your own words. Economic concepts from the textbook need not be referenced if stated in your own words. Any other source must be fully referenced.