State of the Economy
Description
The purpose of this paper is to summarize the current state of the U.S. economy. You will need to download data from the FRED website (https://fred.stlouisfed.org (Links to an external site.)) to support your writing. Your focus should be on the three main statistics we’ve studied: real GDP per capita, unemployment and inflation. Although this is a statistically based report, you should strive to write clearly and logically.
You will need to use Excel for this assignment. Please view the following video for tips on how to download the data and make plots in Excel:
Excel tips for written assignment (Links to an external site.)
Directions
- Go to the above website and download the last 5 years of data for the above three statistics.
- You will have to decide which specific data series you use for each statistic. Be sure to specifically state what data you are using (nominal? Seasonally adjusted? Etc.)
- Do an analysis for each statistic- which direction is it heading? How does the current statistic compare to the past?
- You will need to include a plot for each statistic- the video for this paper will show you how to do this in Excel. Be sure to refer to your plots in your writing.
- For GDP, use real GDP per capita so that you can calculate, report, and comment on the growth rate.
- For unemployment, I would like you to compare the unemployment rate for one specific demographic as well (gender, race, age, education, etc.)
- Do the experts believe the above trends will continue? Cite at least 3 sources (online newspaper reports are fine, if it is from a reputable source (e.g. the New York Times, Washington Post, etc.). I do not care which style you use to include your references, just keep it consistent.
- Finally, include a plot of the Phillips curve for the past 5 years. Does it show any kind of relationship? You can put this part in either the inflation or unemployment section.
- You should have an introduction paragraph, a separate section for each statistic, and a conclusion paragraph.
Grading
This assignment is worth 50 points. Grading will strictly adhere to a rubric.
